Greenville, Agents, Commission, and More
Greenville is the largest city in South Carolina and the seat for Greenville County, South Carolina in the United States. Knox White is the city’s mayor, and has held that office since December 1995. It is home to 67,453 people and ranks sixth in the state. It was home to 400,492 people in 2010, making it the third largest urban area in South Carolina and the fastest-growing. Greenville is the largest city in the Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population of the MSA was 884,975 as of 2016. This makes it the largest MSA in South Carolina and third in The Carolinas.
Greenville is the largest city in the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson Combined Statistical Area, a 10-county region of northwestern South Carolina, is known as “The Upstate”. The CSA was the largest CSA in South Carolina, with 1,442,117 residents as of 2016. Greenville lies approximately halfway between Atlanta, North Carolina and Charlotte, North Carolina. It is connected to Interstate 85 via its metropolitan area, which also includes Interstates 185, 385 and 385.
Competitive Commission Structure
Real Estate Commissions are split among the listing agent (who helps you sell your home) as well as what is offered on the MLS for any agent that brings a buyer to your home. The listing broker is paid 3%, while the MLS offers 3% to all agents working with buyers (so they can see how much they will make if their buyer comes to your home to complete the sale).
A competitive commission structure is where the listing agent agrees to a listing fee of 2% to 2.5% and recommends that the buyer’s agent receive a commission of 2.5%-3.0% on the MLS. Your agent will tell you that if they offer less than 2.5% on the MLS, your home won’t be shown. This is understandable, as the Agent for the Buyer will want the highest possible payday when they find the right property for their client. This is especially true when market conditions favor Buyers (high inventory levels during periods of low prices).
What About a Buyer’s Agent?
In many states, it’s now common for an agent to represent the buyers exclusively in the transaction and be paid a commission by the sellers. More and more buyers are going a step further, hiring and paying for their own agent, referred to as buyers agents. Hiring a buyer’s agent in Greenville could be the first step to finding your dream home.
Remember to meet with your agent, and that unless they are a Broker/Owner, they will need to split their commission with the broker they employ. High-producing Agents could get 90% of their listing commission from their Broker. However, less experienced Agents might only receive 50%.
Agents Are Ready to Bid Their Commission Rate to Get Your Listing
Agents can negotiate on your behalf a competitive structure of real estate commissions with highly experienced, highly recommended agents who are familiar with your local market and even your neighborhood. Each agent is ready to bid for your business. These Agents are not ordinary agents. Many of them are brokers/owners. They have the best chance to negotiate their commissions and remain competitive as well as finding the home of your dreams, including condominiums, townhomes, and luxury real estate. This will directly benefit you and save you thousands in real estate commission fees, compared to the usual fees in South Carolina.
Buying in the Same Area?
Sellers who also buy a home in the local real estate market enjoy a volume discount. You have the opportunity to negotiate a lower real estate commission fee for the sale of your house. This is because the agent will offer a deeper discount (a very attractive rate) since there is an additional commission on the purchase of another property.
What Information Does My Real Estate Agent Need?
Agents in real estate would tell you that the more information you give them the better they will negotiate for your benefit. The degree of trust that you have with an agent could depend on their legal obligations.
There are three options for agents working with buyers: They can either represent the buyer only, known as a single agency, or they can represent the seller only, known as a sub-agency. Or, they could represent both the buyer or seller in a dual agency situation. Some states require that agents disclose any agency relationships they may have before entering into residential real estate transactions. Below is a list of all three types.
- Brokers and real estate agents have a fiduciary relationship with the seller in a traditional relationship. The seller is responsible for the commissions of both the brokers who list and show the property and the sub-broker who brings in the buyer.
- Dual agency is when two agents representing the seller and buyer in a transaction work for the same broker. If the listing agent is aware of an offer from another buyer, it can create a conflict of interest. The law says that a dual agent must not inform the buyer that the seller will accept less or that the buyer will pay more than what is listed.
- Buyers can also hire their own agent to represent their interests. The buyer must pay for the buyer’s agent, but they can be trusted with financial information. This will not be disclosed to any other broker or to the seller.