Do you have to pay that fee even if you self-list on mls? I thought it was only a flat fee if you went that route. (I've never sold a house so this is from stuff I've heard)
I've only ever sold a few properties myself but as I understand it, yes you can discount-list or even flat-fee list a property but the agent that represents the buyer typically still expects to get 3% from you.
It has amazed me that we have been in a technological age for a long time now where buyers can pre-select what they want to see and don't need more than someone to open the door for them at a property, and sellers don't need anything more than a way to get their property on the MLS yet they continue to give up a total of 6% of the sale to an agent.
That 6% amounting to $10K or so on a "median" house in the US seems not incredibly out of range given how much effort along the way results in no sale, but in a major city it can reach $100K or more for the same amount of work. The competition to be a selling agent must be fierce.
Overall it makes local moving relatively costly and can chew up a disproportionate share of any investment gain if that's your angle.
My understanding is that one the big $ houses, $1M+, they don't typically go with a 6% fee, but rather have a "6% on the first $500K, then 1% thereafter".
It makes sense if you think about it, in San Francisco, many neighborhoods have 80% of the houses priced close to $2M (i.e. these are not atypical homes). If everyone stuck to the 6%, then agents would be getting $60K for each house sold (I know they give up some of that to the brand they work for).
