Have your heard of a flat-fee listing and wondered exactly what that means? You’re not the only one! Put on your thinking caps because here’s the breakdown:

In the Atlanta market, the average brokerage commission is 6% of the sales price, split between the listing broker and the selling broker. The brokers then pay the agents that handled the transaction. Then agents get anywhere from 50% to 90% of the commission, depending on the structure their broker and team has in place.

Flat fee agents generally charge one fee to list your home on MLS, the Multiple Listing Service agents use to market homes and find homes for buyers. Flat fee services are not usually full-service agents, which means the seller must handle a lot of the tasks an agent would normally cover, like:

• Arrange for listing photos to be taken

• Schedule showings and be available to show the home

• Conduct marketing outside of MLS, such as open houses, social media marketing, flyers or mailings

• Negotiate price and terms with the buyer’s or their agent

• Execute the contract and necessary addendums

• Make sure the buyer turns in the earnest money

• Be available during the home inspections

• Communicate with the buyer’s agent, lender and the closing attorney to keep everyone on schedule until closing

Agents that advertise themselves as taking only a 1% commission operate similarly to a flat fee service, though they may tell you otherwise. If you’re researching this, make sure you understand exactly what comes with that 1% and what additional services will cost you.

Keep in mind: the 1% commission is immediately misleading, as the seller will still need to pay the buyer’s agent their side of the commission, which is typically 3% of the sales price, make it a 4% percent commission total.

Additionally, the 1% on the listing agent side may only cover certain tasks. The agents often have a menu of add-ons that raise the commission above one percent. You may only get the MLS listing and help signing the contract for that 1% and end up paying more to have help with showings, and all the work agents do to get you from listing to the closing table successfully. Make sure you ask for all these details!

If you are thinking of selling your home in the Atlanta, I would love to have the opportunity to talk to you about the services I provide. You can download my seller’s guide here for a sneak peak!