Can You Haggle with Your Real Estate Agent Over Their Fee?

The short answer is yes, you can negotiate the commission you pay for your real estate agent to sell your home. As a matter of fact, Consumer Reports conducted a survey recently of sellers.

It's findings may surprise you, but it may help you too when you go to sell your next home.

Survey findings:

1. Only 46 percent of sellers surveyed tried to negotiate the fee with their real estate agents
2. 71 percent of sellers who negotiated commission rates with their agents were successful

The moral of the story is you won't know if you can pay a lower fee if you don't try to negotiate a lower fee.

What about the quality of service?
Sellers reported there wasn't much of a difference in service because they paid a higher or lower fee. Even real estate agents admitted they are willing to negotiate their fee, especially if the home is in good condition and listed at a price point aggressive enough to sell it quicker. The less time and marketing money the agent has to spend on the deal, the more willing they are to accept less of a commission.

What do you have to lose? The worst they can say is no, so don't accept any commission rate. See if there is any wiggle room. It can say you thousands of dollars and all it costs you is one little question.