When selling a property, the real estate agency fees may be the responsibility of the seller or the buyer. They vary within a wide range of 4% to 8% of the sale price.
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– Agency fees vary between 4% and 8% of the price of the property.
“Sale price 200,500 euros net seller, agency fees 9,500 euros”. This real estate advert interests you greatly, especially in the current context of falling credit rates. If only there weren’t these nearly 10,000 euros in agency fees payable by the buyer, to be paid on the day the authentic deed of sale is signed at the notary’s office… On paper, nothing prevents you from trying to negotiate a discount with the agency. Especially if the advert has been in their window for several months, a sign that the property is struggling to sell. In reality, “It is rare that potential buyers ask us to make an effort on our fees. It is the sale price of the property that they will negotiate”assures the head of a national agency network. It is indeed more interesting for the buyer to obtain a discount of 10,000 euros on a sale price of 200,500 euros than to try to pick up 1,000 euros on 9,500 euros of agency fees… Furthermore, agency fees payable by the buyer allow the latter to pay notary fees on 200,500 euros “only” in our example, and not on 210,000 euros if the 9,500 euros of fees were payable by the seller.
Those who rarely fail to negotiate agency fees are precisely the sellers, in the event that they have chosen to take them on themselves. At the time of putting the property up for sale, before signing a mandate with an agency, “You have to play the competition. In places where properties sell quickly and at the right price, the agency should not take the maximum from you“, approves a major French mortgage broker. Agency fees in fact vary between 4% and…8% of the price of the property, specifies this professional.
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“This is the price to pay for the valuation of the property, the taking of professional photos, the production of a video allowing virtual visits and the support of the client in the production of mandatory documents such as technical diagnostics (DPE, asbestos, etc.) or even the dated statement”retorts our network boss. It may happen that we agree to lower our fees, but we do not then provide the same services. The DPE, the client takes care of it alone, in this case…» Given the importance now of the “green value” of housing and the difficulty in finding a trustworthy diagnostician, it may be better not to skimp on agency fees…
But, according to the network boss, it is especially at the time of the purchase proposal that sellers try to negotiate agency fees. “By signing the mandate, a seller agreed to 15,000 euros in fees, based on a sale price of 290,000 euroshe illustrates. But when the buyer offered 285,000 euros, the seller asked us to lower our commission by 5,000 euros as well!”he exclaims. It is understandable that he refused. “And then, if you paid 8% in fees but the agency sold your property in three weeks, it’s worth it.”approves the broker. Especially in the middle of a real estate crisis.
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