How Much Does it Cost to Hire a Yellowknife REALTOR?

The cost of hiring a REALTOR® to sell your home depends on a variety of factors including how your home is priced, the state of the market, and the time of year.  Some homes are easier to sell than others.  If yours is such a home, you should be able to negotiate a good rate with your REALTOR®. Yes, commission rates are negotiable!

The misconception that commission rates are fixed, or standard, is partly the result of advertising by For-Sale-By-Owner (FSBO) websites that claim they can save homeowners huge amounts of money compared to using a REALTOR®, based on “local REALTOR® commissions.”  But if you take a closer look you’ll see that they are using “local” rates that are typical of Vancouver or Toronto, not Yellowknife. This is like a car saleman claiming he can save you $25,000 by comparing a car on his lot to an imaginary car with a made up, outrageous price tag.  That’s a great sales pitch, but it’s very misleading to homeowners.

The truth is, there is no such thing as a standard commission rate.  You can negotiate with your REALTOR® to sell your home at whatever rate you like, as long as they agree to it.  REALTORS® can work for $1 an hour if they choose to.  Depending on the time of year, and a variety of other factors, there can be some bargains out there.  But like with any service, make sure to ask exactly what services you will be getting for the agreed-upon rate.  The kinds of services offered by Yellowknife REALTORS® vary just as much as commissions.

It is also important to remember that by hiring a Yellowknife REALTOR® to sell your home, you are actually getting all 12 REALTORS® in Yellowknife – 12 professional salespeople competing with each other to sell your home first! .  Your listing agent may be responsible for preparing the listing, but he or she will pay half the commission to any other Yellowknife REALTOR® (through the REALTOR®’s brokerage) who finds a buyer.  This system of sharing listings is known as the Multi-Listing Service (MLS), and it’s the most compelling reason to hire a REALTOR®!

Another great reason to hire a REALTOR® is they know how to find buyers – in fact they spend most of their days looking for and working with buyers. So when you list with a Yellowknife REALTOR®, you immediately tap into a wide network of qualified buyers who are actively in the market and ready to purchase.  Our buyer clients are not just browsing websites, kicking tires and wasting homeowners’ time.  They are viewing homes with the intention to to purchase, side-by-side with the REALTORS® they rely on for advice and assistance.

One more great reason to hire a REALTOR® is that selling your own home is not as easy as it looks!  You may have noticed that FSBO listings generally sit on the market a lot longer than professional listings.  This usually isn’t because the photos aren’t as good or the listing description isn’t complete. It’s because when the phone rings, your chances of selling are greatly enhanced if a professional salesperson answers that call for you.  You only get so many chances to connect with the right buyer.  If a potential buyer feels uncomfortable with the process for any reason along the way, you may lose them.  REALTORS® make these connections quickly because it’s what they do for a living.  When you dedicate every day to working hard at something, as REALTORS® do, you get pretty good at it.

There are many other great reasons why you should hire a REALTOR® to help you sell your home. Call Karen or Adrian today if you’d like to learn more.

The trademarks REALTOR® and MLS® are owned or controlled by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify real estate professionals who are members of CREA (REALTOR®) and/or the quality of services they provide (MLS®)