When you're shortlisting potential agents to help sell your property, you need to know how much real estate agents charge, specifically their fees and commission. The fees and commission you pay are the largest single cost associated with a property sale, so it makes sense to know what you are being charged and how this will impact your finances.
It's worth knowing that agent commissions are not regulated in Australia, and are 'set' by the market. This means that the rates or commission a real estate agent charges varies, with some commission rates including advertising and marketing costs in their commission structure, and others breaking these costs up and charging you a separate fee for them.
Commissions by state
- Real estate commissions in the Australian Capital Territory
- Real estate commissions in New South Wales
- Real estate commissions in Northern Territory
- Real estate commissions in Queensland
- Real estate commissions in South Australia
- Real estate commissions in Tasmania
- Real estate commissions in Victoria
- Real estate commissions in Western Australia
Average real estate agent commissions
Real estate agent commission percentages in Australia vary from 1.6% to 4% of the total sale price, depending on location and the amount of competition between agents in an area. The simple rule of supply and demand dictates that postcodes with lots of local agents drives competition for your listing. To get your business they are forced to lower their rates. The reverse applies in rural areas, where fewer agents means there is less competition for listings, which typically results in higher commissions.
Let's take a look at two examples, one in metro Sydney and one in regional Victoria:
- If you sold your property in Randwick for $1.2 million - where the average agent commission rate is currently 1.92% - you would pay your agent a commission of $23,040. This would leave you with $1,176,960 from the sale.
- A property sold in regional Bendigo for $1.2 million - where the average agent commission rate is currently 2.44% - you would pay your agent a commission of $29,280. This would leave you with $1,170,720 from the sale.
As you can see a small difference of just 0.52% in the agent commision translates to thousands of dollars in difference that you could end up paying your agent following a successful sale.
Now let's look at real estate agent fees and commission in more detail, starting with the difference between these two separate costs.