For sale by owner clients oftentimes ask us how much commission they should offer buyer’s agents when listing on the MLS.

When a FSBO uses an entry only MLS listing to list their own property on the MLS without a Realtor, they naturally avoid paying a commission to a listing broker (see How MLS Entry Only Listings Work), but what about the buyer’s agent?

There’s some ambiguity here for the average FSBO, they just don’t know what to offer.

FSBOs generally know that in traditional real estate transactions that involve a full commission listing broker, there’s a total amount of real estate agent commission decided upon when a listing agreement is signed, and that commission is split evenly between the listing broker and the buyer’s agent – that’s ultimately how buyer’s agents get paid.

With flat fee MLS listings, where the listing broker and their commission is eliminated, that only leaves the buyer’s agent commission to think about.

Entry Only New England is the only flat fee MLS realty service to have actually conducted the research to determine the average Massachusetts buyer’s agent commission. Based on a thorough analysis of sold property data in the MLS, we’ve put together a full report that unpacks the mystery around buyer’s agent commission – get your copy here!

FSBOs Pay Buyer’s Agent Commission

In looking at buyer’s agent commission paid on both single family homes and condominiums sold in Massachusetts, what we saw is that there’s a sweet spot of 2% or 2.5% earned by buyer’s agents.

Our study revealed that in an overwhelming majority of the time, one specific buyer’s agent commission is offered in Massachusetts.

Interesting for FSBOs is that the commission they offer buyer’s agents differs slightly than the overall market.

While there are sellers interested in offering a buyer’s agent commission payment of less than 2%, something we get asked about a lot, it’s actually quite rare for a seller to compensate a buyer’s agent with something less than 2%, as it took place roughly .24% of the time in our research.

Entry Only New England Clients Get Access to Full Buyer’s Agent Commission Report

The full details of our first of its kind buyer’s agent commission study is made available exclusively to clients of Entry Only New England, at no additional charge, who use our flat fee MLS realty platform to list their own home on the MLS without a Realtor.

Entry Only New England is the most advanced and professional entry only MLS platform in Massachusetts. Access to the in depth information in our full buyer’s agent commission report complements other features of our flat fee MLS realty service, like our professionally designed property flyer templates available at no extra charge to our clients.

Sound interesting? Perhaps you have other questions about listing your own home on the MLS without a Realtor, our frequently asked questions (FAQ) page can help!

How to Price FSBO? The Amount of Buyer’s Agent Commission Offered Impacts FSBO Pricing

Providing transparent access to the amount of buyer’s agent commission offered on each and every home sale, information not readily accessible to consumers, ultimately assists for sale by owner sellers in truly optimizing their MLS listing for maximum real estate agent commission savings and professional presentation to the market.

One of the best ways to take action, to be armed with the actual data so you can make an educated decision, is to leverage our How to Price FSBO Guide. The Guide helps FSBOs determine the right asking price for a home, and, allows you to accurately hone in on what buyer’s agent commission amount you should offer.

Within the Guide, which is tailored to your neighborhood, you’ll get access to information like all single-family and condominiums sold in your Massachusetts zip code in the past 6 months, as well as those listings that were canceled, temporarily withdrawn, or expired. Sold data alone may be available via public record at your local registry of deeds, yet you can imagine the difficult and tedious job it is to pull this information together comprehensively.

Also within the Guide, and not available via public record whatsoever, is the amount of buyer’s agent commission offered for each listing – imagine the power of having that data at your fingertips, to know exactly what buyer’s agent commission was offered on the sale of the home across or down the street from you. That’s going to help you make an accurate decision on what buyer’s agent commission to offer! Get access to the How to Price FSBO Guide here.