Everyone in Auckland knows that house prices here are reaching new heights every day. And so do the agents commissions. In this article we will have a look at the fees charged by different agencies for selling a house in Auckland.

When you decide do sell your house or your rental property you will be tempted to list it with a real estate agent like pretty much everyone else does. It’s the common and usual way of selling properties and everyone does it, right?. We’ve got an interesting reading about some other options that can help you decide whether to run a Private Sale or List with Agent. In this post we will focus on the most important aspect of all – Agents Commissions.

It’s no secret that real estate agents charge arms and legs for their services but it’s generally accepted as the only way to sell a house. There is quite a difference between the fees charged by various agencies – here we cover the most prominent ones operating in Auckland.

The total commission is made up of several components – almost all agencies in our list with the exception of Barfoot & Thompson charge $500 “admin fee”. Then they charge a higher base rate (3.95% or 4.00%) for the first $300,000 (Ray White, B&T) or first $400,000 (Harcourts, LJ Hooker) or first $500,000 (Bayleys) of the sale price. Above that they charge a lower rate between 2.00% and 2.50% on the balance. Finally they add GST to the total and that’s the commission.

Let’s take for example a South Auckland house sold with with Harcourts for $500,000. To figure out the commission start with the admin fee of $500, add 3.95% on the first $400,000 and 2.00% on the remaining $100,000. Add 15% GST and there you are paying $21,045 to your agent. That’s enough for a decent car or luxurious holiday overseas and it’s almost half of the median annual salary in New Zealand! Are you ready to give up this much for holding a couple of open homes?

As if paying tens of thousands dollars for holding a couple of open homes wasn’t enough agents will encourage you to spend another few thousands for marketing, advertising, flyers and professional photography. In our Internet age home buyers don’t read Western Homes or Property Press any more. Everybody’s first call is obviously the mighty TradeMe – yet agents will be quick to recommend spending over $1,500 + GST for a newspaper ad. Why? Is it money well spent? Go figure… No surprise that one agent bragged a few weeks ago that he collected over $100,000 in commission over one single weekend!

Are you wondering how to sell your property and pay No Commission without the hassle of private sale? It’s easy – forget the agents and sell your house to PatMat Property Solutions and save $20,000 to $30,000.

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