1. Does the agreement between the Competition Bureau and the Canadian Real Estate Association allow me to post my own home on MLS®?
No, the agreement has allowed sellers the choice of hiring a REALTOR® to place their property for sale on MLS® and then conduct the rest of the sale themselves. Only licensed REALTORS® can still post properties on the MLS®.
2. So what are my choices then?
Essentially you have three choices:
i) Sell your home yourself without any assistance from a REALTOR®. You always have this option. However, we don’t recommend this for the simple reason that your home won’t have any exposure on MLS®. Remember, over 95% of homes for sale in Canada are posted on MLS®.
ii) Sell your home yourself, but hire a REALTOR® to post your home on MLS® such as our $1,199 Flat Fee MLS® Package. This is excellent if you want full exposure and are confident with negotiations, contracts, and conducting the sale of your home yourself.
iii) Sell your home through a REALTOR®. This is the traditional way homes are sold and offered via our Full Service MLS® Package. This an excellent option if you are unsure how to go about selling your home and want a professional to help with negotiations, contracts, and marketing. With full service, you don’t even have to be in Canada to sell your home.
3. Your Full Service MLS® Package 3.0% commission is less than other REALTORS® I’ve seen. Does that mean I’ll be receiving a lower quality of service?
Absolutely not! Even though we may charge less than other REALTORS® you’ve seen, we are confident we will still exceed your expectations. we handle all negotiations, contracts, marketing and advertising, open houses, and more.
4. Does tax apply to commissions?
Yes, for example if your home sells for $400,000 and the commission is $10,000 there is applicable tax (GST) on top of that. A lower commission structure also means you pay less tax!
5. How Does Flat Fee MLS® Work?
MLS® stands for Multiple Listing Service. Every home for sale listed by a REALTOR® (unless it is specifically exempted from MLS®) will be listed in MLS®. Listing REALTORS® enter the data about a home for sale and offer to share the commission with a broker who brings a buyer. Regardless of which broker a REALTOR® works for he or she has the same database through the Victoria Real Estate Board; therefore, once your home is on MLS® you’ve employed 1,600 Victoria REALTORS® to help sell your home.
In Victoria, over 98% of MLS® transactions involved two REALTORS®, the listing REALTOR® and the buyer’s REALTORS®. Reality is, the vast majority of buyer’s are represented by a REALTOR® and they are offered a co-operative commission for showing and selling your home.
Traditionally, an example of what a seller’s REALTOR® may charge is a commission of 6.0% on the first $100,000 plus 3.0% commission on the remaining amount. That commission is then is split with the buyer’s REALTOR® (3.0%100k+1.5%balance). If the seller’s REALTOR® sells the property directly he or she is typically entitled to the entire 6%100k+3%balance commission, or $21,000 on a $600,000 home.
With a Flat Fee MLS® package, also known as a ‘Mere Posting,’ you get the exact same powerful MLS® exposure as a ‘Full Service’ listing; however, you take on some of the work yourself including coordinating REALTOR® viewings, showing the property to perspective buyers, obtaining feedback, receiving and negotiating offers, and handling condition removal such as the inspection. Essentially what a ‘Mere Posting’ amounts to is a For Sale by Owner (FSBO) with MLS® System exposure. After the home is listed, the homeowner takes control of the selling process.
With the Flat Fee MLS® package you have three opportunities to save:
1. You save money on the listing portion of the commission. The up-front cost is $1,199+Tax to have your property listed on MLS®. Upon accepting an unconditional offer of purchase and sale, a brokerage & board fee of $1,299+Tax payable to Fair Realty applies to cover conveyancing costs and preparation of documents for your lawyer. This is a fraction of the listing portion of a commission which may cost 3.0%100k+1.5%balance.
2. You set how much co-operative commission you want to offer buyers’ REALTORS®. The minimum is $1; however, you may choose to offer something like 1.5% or an absolute value such as $5,000 or $10,000. The amount you choose to offer to REALTORS® showing your property is a strategic decision and it can be changed throughout the listing at no extra charge.
3. You can sell directly to a buyer NOT working with a REALTOR®. In this scenario you do not pay a co-operative commission offered to REALTORS®. If you factor in taxes, this equates to over $20,000 in savings on a $600,000 home.
Please Note
*Upon accepting an unconditional offer of purchase and sale, a brokerage & board fee of $1,299+Tax payable to Fair Realty applies. If a REALTOR® was used by the buyer(s), the co-operative REALTORS® commission you have specified is also payable. ^Flat Fee price does not include cooperative REALTORS® commission (minimum $1).