How to Avoid Realtor Fees When Selling: 5 Ways That Work

You have five real options for avoiding (or reducing) realtor fees when you sell, and the cheapest one to try costs nothing: ask your agent to lower their rate. 

That works far more often than most sellers expect. Clever surveyed 500 home sellers who sold within the past 2 years. Among those who asked their agent for a lower rate, 93% were successful. Only 33% of sellers who used an agent ever asked.[1]

Your other four options are effective, but may cost you something in exchange, whether that's service quality, time, or a lower sale price. A low-commission agent cuts your listing fee in half with no change in services; a flat fee MLS service cuts your listing cost to a few hundred bucks, but you run the sale yourself. FSBO and cash buyers eliminate commission entirely, but can cost you more than they save. 

Here's what each one does to your bottom line on a $500,000 sale, and how to tell which one fits.

How much are realtor fees in 2026?

The national average is 2.76% to the listing agent and 2.70% to the buyer's agent, for a combined 5.46%, according to Clever's most recent commission survey. On a $500,000 sale, that's just over $27,000.

One thing that changed in 2024, and most sellers still don't know: you aren't required to pay the buyer's agent. After the NAR lawsuit settlement, buyer's agent compensation can't be advertised in the MLS, and buyers negotiate pay with their own agent in writing before they tour anything.

Sellers still commonly cover it as a closing concession, because most buyers can't pay an agent on top of a down payment. But it's your call now. Only 41% of sellers knew that before they listed.[3]

Susan Aviles, broker-in-charge of Reside Real Estate in Charleston, SC, and a Clever Partner Agent, still sees sellers there paying both sides. Some buyer's agents are asking for more than they used to. "Many buyer agents are requesting 3% compensation from sellers rather than the 2.5% that I had more commonly seen previously," she says. "Of course, these requests remain negotiable." If an offer asks you to cover 3%, you can counter at 2.5% or less.

How to avoid (or save) on realtor fees in 2026

1. Ask your agent for a lower rate

You may be able to negotiate a lower commission rate with your listing agent yourself.

Among sellers who used an agent, 33% tried to negotiate. Of those who asked, 93% got a reduction. The cuts were meaningful, too: 90% of those sellers got at least half a percentage point off, and 45% got a full point or more.[3]

Of the sellers who didn't ask, 35% didn't know commission was negotiable. Aviles sees a second reason. "People generally don't negotiate what they pay their attorney, accountant, or financial advisor, and many approach Realtors the same way," she says.

A full-point discount on the listing side of a $500,000 sale is $5,000.

Half of the sellers who got a reduction (50%) said they just asked directly. No leverage, no script, no competing bid. The next most common answers were having a home expected to sell easily (39%), a high-value home (27%), bundling a purchase and a sale with the same agent (25%), and a hot local market (22%).

Jake Kubota, a REALTOR® with Real Broker LLC in the Chicago suburbs, says the house decides it for him.

"I personally am a lot more inclined [to discount] if the property's in my backyard, if it's a neighborhood I'm super familiar with, and if I can see days on market for homes there are very quick," he says. A listing that drags on for three to six months pays him the same as one that sells in a week. If your home is move-in ready in a neighborhood where homes go fast, say that when you ask.

When you call, ask specifically:

• "What's your listing-side commission for a home in this price range?" Get the starting number on the record before you negotiate against it.
• "The national average listing fee is 2.76%. Where does your rate sit against that?" Naming a benchmark worked for 21% of successful negotiators.
• "Would you do 1.5%, or a sliding scale tied to the final sale price?" Ask for a specific number. A vague request for "a discount" gives the agent nothing to say yes to.
• "If you can't move on the rate, what can you add?" Kubota says an agent who won't come down much can sometimes "throw in some extras on the listing, whether it's a 3D tour or paid social media marketing."

Comparison shopping is the other gap. Of sellers who used an agent, 65% interviewed exactly one before choosing, which leaves no competing quote to negotiate against. Interview three.

One counterpoint worth taking seriously. Chicago agent Remington Pettygrove of the Ben Lalez Real Estate Team at Compass: "If an agent is willing to give away their own money that easily, how hard do you think they'll negotiate for yours?"

Watch our video on negotiating realtor fees for more insights and tips.

2. List with a low commission realtor

A low-commission agent is a full-service realtor who charges less than the standard listing fee. The discount comes from volume, not from cutting service. Clever Real Estate pre-negotiates a lower listing fee (as low as 1.5% in some markets) with agents at top national and local brokerages, then matches sellers to them.

Agents accept the lower fee because Clever sends them sellers they'd otherwise pay to find.

"I have a lot of colleagues who spend upwards of $6,000 to $7,000 a month on Zillow leads," says Elliott Grozan, a REALTOR® with Denovo Realty in Brevard County, FL, and a Clever Partner Agent for more than five years. "With Clever, I'm not paying for leads every month." Clever is paid out of the agent's commission at closing, so the seller pays nothing extra.

On a $500,000 sale, 1.5% instead of the national average fee keeps $6,300 in your pocket.

The obvious question is whether a cheaper agent gets you a worse outcome. Our survey data says no. Among sellers who used a discount or low-commission agent, 82% said the service was as good as or better than a traditional agent, including 22% who said it was much better. And 69% said their home did not sell for less than it would have with a traditional agent.[3]

What keeps sellers away isn't a bad experience; it's that they've never heard of the option. Among all sellers, 41% didn't know low-commission brokerages existed, and another 27% had heard of them but knew little about them. Another 28% simply stuck with an agent they'd already picked.

Wayne Newcomb, a Clever Partner Agent in Albany, NY, has sold about 2,600 homes over 27 years. He says his 1.5% clients get the same work as anyone else he represents. "I don't sacrifice any services," Newcomb says. "The only thing we're doing is saving them thousands of dollars in commission."

Most sellers who skip this option have never heard of it. Among all sellers, 41% didn't know low-commission brokerages existed, and another 27% had heard of them but knew little about them. Of the sellers who didn't use one, 28% were simply happy with the agent they'd already planned to hire.

Service still matters, and the thing you're paying for isn't MLS access. Mikaela Camacho, a Keller Williams agent in Dallas-Fort Worth: "Agents don't just pull recent sales; they read buyer behavior, demand trends, and absorption rates. In today's market, deals fall apart over pricing psychology and inspection negotiation, not over MLS access."

If you want to go below 1.5%, there are realtors with 1% commission, but you'll typically give up professional photography, in-person consultations, or full marketing support.

List for as low as 1.5% vs. 2.76% national average 1.5% is Clever’s lowest listing fee; actual fees vary by market. It does not include a buyer’s agent commission, which is negotiated separately.

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How Clever works

Clever is a discount real estate broker that has helped 38,000+ sellers save on commission, with 4,600+ 5-star Trustpilot reviews. Choose your own top-rated local agent, get 100% full service, and sell your home for a low listing fee.

1. #1 Tell us about your home. Answer a few quick questions and Clever’s Concierge Team introduces you to top-rated agents in your area. Free, with no obligation.
2. #2 Choose your own agent. You compare top-rated local agents and choose the one that’s the best fit. Clever’s agents are top performers from every major brand and top local brokerage, they all offer full service, and they have already agreed to list for less.
3. #3 List for less, with full service. Get everything a traditional brokerage offers (pricing, marketing, showings, negotiation, and closing) for as low as a 1.5% listing fee instead of the 2.76% national average, saving you thousands.

Learn more: How others like you used Clever

3. Use a flat-fee MLS service

A flat-fee MLS service is the hybrid option — more savings than a low-commission agent, less risk than a pure FSBO sale. You pay a one-time fee (typically $99–$399) to get your home listed on the local Multiple Listing Service without hiring a listing agent. The MLS feeds Zillow, Realtor.com, Redfin, and (critically) buyer's agent search tools, which is where serious buyers find homes.

Two services dominate the national flat-fee MLS market:

• Houzeo: Starts at $399 for its Bronze plan, with national coverage and the contract forms most states require. The dashboard lets you accept offers and manage showings online. Bronze is Houzeo's only true flat-fee plan. Its Silver, Gold, and Platinum plans add 0.5% to 1.25% at closing.[4]
• Beycome: Starts at $99 for Basic, $399 for Enhanced (adds 25 professional HD photos and a photography session), and $999 for Concierge, which includes a closing coordinator and a full CMA. Nothing is due at closing on any tier. [5]
• See more flat-fee MLS options.

Watch for add-on fees across the category. Houzeo itself documents title company referral fees ($50 to $200), coordination fees ($50 to $200), cancellation or listing removal fees ($50 to $100), and photo update fees ($25 to $75) as common industry charges. Beycome charges nothing at closing, but Georgia MLS requires a $25 cancellation fee.

Here's the math on a $500,000 sale using Houzeo's $399 Bronze plan, assuming you still offer the buyer's agent 2.70% and sell at full market value:

These savings depend on two things. First, you have to sell at full market value, which is the part FSBO sellers most often miss. Second, you have to decide what to offer the buyer's agent. You can legally offer nothing, but buyer's agents are unlikely to bring clients to a home with no path to getting paid, and unrepresented buyers are a small slice of the market.

Newcomb had a buyer skip a home for that reason. Buyers in his area sign a contract agreeing to pay their agent if the seller won't. "The buyer said to me, 'Wayne, look, I definitely want you to get paid, but I don't want to have to pay you myself. So, if that's the case, let's skip this property and move on to the others,'" he says.

Most flat-fee sellers still offer 2.5% to 3%, which means the savings come off the listing side only.

4. Sell without a realtor (FSBO)

Selling for sale by owner eliminates the listing fee. It also makes you responsible for pricing, prep, photography, marketing, showings, buyer vetting, negotiation, disclosures, and the contract.

It's doable. Steve Nicastro, Clever's managing editor and a former licensed agent in Charleston, SC, sold his mother-in-law's two-bedroom condo FSBO in September 2024. He paid for a flat-fee MLS listing to get on the MLS, hired cleaners for $250, and used a $50 lockbox. Within 10 days of going live he had three showings. His take afterward: it saved real money, it took real work, and an alternative might have saved more.

It's often worth it to pay for a flat fee MLS company ($99-$399) to get your property on the multiple listing service (MLS), which means many more buyer’s agents will see your listing.

One of the biggest downsides to selling without an agent is that FSBO homes usually sell for about 15% less[2] than homes represented by an agent. So even if you save a few thousand on listing agent fees, you may walk away with tens of thousands less overall.

Here's how the dollar math typically looks on a $500K home that sells at the median FSBO discount:

The FSBO seller saves $15,825 in commission and ends up $59,175 behind.

Adam Sinclair, an agent in the Bay City–Saginaw–Midland market in Michigan, has a representative case: "The last FSBO I worked with lost $6,000 on the market value to save 3% on a $130,000 home. The only thing that matters is the bottom line delivered to the client at the closing table." The commission "savings" on that sale was $3,900. The net loss was about $2,100 — before factoring in the time spent.

FSBO isn't impossible, but it tends to fail in a specific way most sellers don't anticipate. Jenna Ritter, an agent in Hall and Lumpkin Counties, Georgia, puts it bluntly: "You can absolutely do FSBO… The problem is, very few people are comfortable with it. You will list your home FSBO and you will get inundated with calls from agents, but it's because they want the listing, not because they have a buyer." A flood of inquiries that looks like demand often turns out to be buyer's agents fishing for the listing or unrepresented buyers fishing for a discount.

If you still want MLS exposure without going fully solo, think about going the flat-fee MLS route, the lighter version of FSBO that solves the visibility problem without solving the pricing one.

5. Sell to a cash buyer

Cash buyers — including investors, iBuyers, and “we buy houses” companies — purchase homes directly, often as-is, with no agents involved. These sales are fast, simple, and eliminate realtor fees entirely.

The trade-off is price. Investors commonly offer 70% of the home's after-repair value, minus the estimated repair costs. These buyers are looking for a steep discount so they can make a worthwhile profit when they resell the property.

You save $27,300 in commission and give up far more in your sale proceeds. That trade only makes sense when a traditional sale isn't available to you: fire damage, foundation problems, an active foreclosure timeline, or a property nobody will finance.

Vet anyone you talk to. Check state licensing records, the BBB, and Google reviews. Walk away from anyone who pressures you to sign on the first visit.

iBuyers (Opendoor, Offerpad)

iBuyers like Opendoor and Offerpad use algorithmic pricing models to make near-instant offers on homes in decent condition. Typical offers come in 5–10% below open-market value, plus a service fee of 5–8%, plus any repair credits. They make the most sense if you need speed and certainty on a home that doesn't need significant work — a relocation deadline, a recent inheritance, or an out-of-state move where managing showings isn't realistic.

iBuyers don't buy every property type. Older homes, rural homes, homes with significant deferred maintenance, and homes outside metro areas often don't qualify. Get a quote, compare it to one or two traditional agent CMAs, and treat the gap as the cost of speed and certainty.

Investors and "we buy houses" companies

Cash investors and "we buy houses" companies play a different game. They typically offer around 70% of the home's after-repair value (ARV), minus the cost of estimated repairs. The math is built around being able to flip or rent the property at a profit. On a $500,000 home that needs $30,000 in work, a typical investor offer is closer to $320,000.

This route makes sense for homes that genuinely can't be sold through traditional channels — fire damage, foundation issues, hoarder conditions, foreclosure timelines — but the risk of scams is real. Established national networks like HomeVestors (We Buy Ugly Houses) and We Buy Houses operate franchises with mixed local quality. Vet any local operator through state licensing records, BBB, and Google reviews before signing anything. Walk away from anyone pressuring you to sign on the first visit.

Selling to a cash buyer eliminates realtor fees — but the steep discount in sale price completely negates the savings. This route only makes sense if you need a fast, as-is sale and are willing to sacrifice profit for convenience.

Bottom line: What's the best way to save on realtor fees?

If you're selling with an agent, ask for a lower rate. It's free, it works nine times out of ten, and 45% of the sellers who succeeded got a full percentage point or more.

If you want the biggest reliable cut without touching your service or your sale price, list with a low-commission agent. Sellers who did it overwhelmingly report the same service (82%) and the same sale price (69%) as a traditional agent.

If you're experienced, organized, and willing to run your own sale, a flat-fee MLS listing at $99 to $399 saves the most of anything on this list that doesn't cost you sale price.

FSBO and cash buyers eliminate commission and usually cost more than they save. Choose them for speed, certainty, or a property that can't sell the normal way, not to save on fees.

FAQ

Methodology

Every dollar figure in this guide traces back to a specific source. Here's how we calculated savings, sourced commission rates, and selected the agents quoted throughout.

Commission averages. The 2.76% listing-agent average and 2.70% buyer's-agent average come from Clever Real Estate's August 2026 commission survey [6], which collected typical commission rates from 434 partner agents across the U.S. Agents reported what listing-side and buyer-side commissions actually run in their markets — not list-price advertised rates. The combined 5.46% national average is what we applied to the $500,000 example sale price throughout the article ($20,131 in total commission at the national median home price; ~$27,300 at our $500K example).

Seller survey data. All seller behavior statistics come from Clever Real Estate's Home Seller Commission Survey, which polled 500 Americans who sold a home they lived in within the past two years. The survey ran July 10 to 14, 2026. Subgroup figures use smaller bases: negotiation behavior reflects 366 sellers who used an agent, reasons for not negotiating reflect 204 sellers, tactics that worked reflect 113 sellers whose agent agreed to a lower rate, and discount broker experience reflects 45 sellers who used one.

Savings math: The $500,000 baseline anchors every comparison. Negotiation savings apply a 0.5-point and 1-point reduction to the 2.76% listing average, the two thresholds 90% and 45% of successful negotiators reached. Low-commission savings are the difference between 2.76% and Clever's pre-negotiated partner-agent fee. Flat-fee MLS savings use Houzeo's $399 Bronze plan against the 2.76% listing average, assuming a full-market-value sale and a 2.70% buyer's-agent concession.

Expert quotes. Quotes throughout the article come from licensed agents currently active in the markets they discuss. Where possible, we prioritized agents with direct experience handling the specific scenarios (FSBO sales, commission negotiation, low-commission listings) that the article covers. Agents quoted in this article:

• Mikaela Camacho, Keller Williams Realty — Dallas–Fort Worth, TX
• Remington Pettygrove, Ben Lalez Real Estate Team @ Compass — Chicago, IL
• Adam Sinclair, JPAR Great Lakes Bay Realty — Bay City/Saginaw/Midland, MI
• Jenna Ritter, Virtual Properties Realty — Hall and Lumpkin Counties, GA
• Elliott Grozan, Denovo Realty — Brevard County, FL
• Jake Kubota, Real Broker LLC — Chicago suburbs, IL
• Wayne Newcomb, Yankee Realty, Inc. — Albany, NY
• Susan Aviles, Reside Real Estate —  Charleston, SC

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