93% of Home Sellers Who Asked for a Lower Commission Received a Discount
Most sellers never bring up commission with their agent. The ones who do almost always pay less.
A 6% real estate commission is the traditional total fee a seller pays on a home sale, split between their own listing agent and the buyer's agent. That rate was the industry default for decades, and many sellers still assume it is simply what selling a home costs.
Clever Real Estate surveyed 500 Americans who sold a home in the past two years to find out what they paid in realtor fees, whether they negotiated, and what they knew about their options.
Almost no seller defends the traditional commission rate of 6%. Just 1 in 12 (8%) said that rate would have been reasonable for the service they received, and half put the fair price at 3% or less.
Only 8% of Sellers Say the Traditional 6% Real Estate Commission Is Fair for the Service They Received
Although only 16% of sellers actually paid 6% or more, 38% still believe a 6% total commission is the standard rate today.
When asked what total commission rate would have been fair for the service sellers received, their answers land well below the 6% that the industry treated as standard for decades.
Just 8% said 6% or more would have been fair for the service they received. A third (33%) put the fair rate at 4% to 5%, and 30% said 3%.
Taken together, half of sellers (51%) said a total commission of 3% or less, roughly half the traditional rate, would have been reasonable.
Some sellers reject the percentage model entirely. More than 1 in 8 (13%) say they would rather pay a flat fee of $1,000 to $3,000 on their home sale than a percentage of the sale price in commission.
What sellers actually paid runs higher than what they call fair, however. Among those surveyed, 42% paid a total real estate commission of 5% or more, including 14% who paid exactly 6% and 2% who paid more than that. About 12% paid no commission at all, typically because they sold without an agent.
Perception has not caught up with the market. Although only 16% of sellers actually paid 6% or more, 38% still believe a 6% real estate commission is the standard rate today.
Just 1 in 3 Sellers Who Used an Agent Tried to Negotiate Their Commission Rate
Half of sellers whose agents lowered their commission rate (50%) said simply asking directly was what brought it down. Just 7% of sellers who asked did not receive a reduction in commission.
Negotiating a realtor commission rate works nearly every time someone tries it, but most sellers never even start the conversation.
Among the sellers who used an agent, just 33% tried to negotiate a lower rate. Most (56%) never tried, and the remaining 11% used a brokerage with a set discounted rate, so there was nothing to negotiate.
Of the sellers who did ask their agent to lower their commission, 93% received a reduction. That means only 7% were turned down outright.
of sellers who used an agent asked for a lower commission.
of the sellers who asked received a reduction. Only 7% were turned down.
Among sellers who used an agent, men (41%) were significantly more likely than women (26%) to ask for a lower commission. Once asked, however, men (93%) were equally as likely as women (92%) to get a reduction.
The commission reductions sellers received were not trivial. Among those whose agents agreed to a lower rate, 90% cut at least 0.5 percentage points off their rate, and 45% cut a full percentage point or more.
Asked what worked when negotiating, half of sellers whose agents lowered their rate (50%) said simply asking directly was what brought it down. Other tactics included bundling buying and selling with the same agent (25%), pointing out average rates in the area (21%), interviewing and comparing multiple agents (20%), and collecting competing listing proposals (19%).
Circumstances helped too, though sellers named them less often than the act of simply asking. A home expected to sell easily (39%), a high-value home (27%), and a hot local market (22%) all made agents more willing to move on their commission rate.
Sometimes the agent moved first. Nearly 1 in 5 sellers (18%) credited their agent offering a lower rate without being asked.
35% of Sellers Who Never Negotiated Commission Didn't Know They Could
Among sellers who used an agent, 65% interviewed only one, leaving no competing quote or average realtor commission to negotiate against.
Among sellers who never tried to negotiate commission with their agent, the reasons are mostly information gaps rather than deliberate choices.
About 37% of sellers who didn't negotiate said the commission rate already seemed fair, and 35% did not know they could negotiate at all.
A quarter (25%) were more focused on getting the home sold than on saving money, 18% never thought about negotiating, and 13% felt uncomfortable or awkward raising it with their agent.
Agents are rarely the obstacle. Only 5% said their agent told them the rate was not negotiable, and 9% did not think asking would work, even though most sellers who negotiate realtor commission succeed.
The confusion runs deeper than a single conversation. Across the full sample, 26% thought commission was a fixed, standard rate they could not change.
Sellers also do not comparison shop, which leaves them without a benchmark. Among sellers who used an agent, 65% interviewed only one before choosing, 27% interviewed two, and just 8% interviewed three or more.
Nearly half (45%) found their agent through a personal connection, either a referral from a friend or family member (25%) or an agent they already knew (20%), which can make a conversation about real estate agent fees harder to start.
Only 41% of Sellers Knew They Could Skip the Buyer's Agent Commission
Only 41% of sellers knew before listing that paying for the buyer's agent commission is optional.
Industry rule changes in 2024 mean sellers are no longer required to offer the buyer's agent a commission. The decision became theirs to make, but most sellers never actually learned that.
Before listing, 59% of sellers did not understand that offering the buyer's agent a commission was optional. Only 41% knew, a gap that shapes what sellers actually pay at closing.
That gap compounds the wider negotiation problem. Sellers who do not know the rule changed have no reason to raise the buyer's agent commission with their agent.
82% of Sellers Who Used a Discount Broker Say the Service Was as Good as or Better Than a Traditional Agent
Among sellers who used a discount or low-commission agent, 69% say their home sold for the same as or more than it would have with a traditional agent.
Sellers who chose a discount real estate broker report an experience comparable to paying a traditional rate, and most say the lower fee cost them nothing at the closing table.
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. Among the same sellers, 69% said their home did not sell for less than it would have with a traditional agent.
Agent's service, compared to using a traditional agent
Home sale price, compared to using a traditional agent
Many sellers, however, did not even consider a discount real estate broker due to lack of knowledge. Among all sellers, 41% did not know low-commission brokerages existed, and another 27% had heard of them but knew little about them.
Existing relationships are also a common reason sellers did not use a discount broker. More than a quarter (28%) said they were satisfied with the agent they already planned to use, 24% went with a friend, family member, or referral, and 18% wanted the agent with the strongest local reputation.
Service concerns ranked below relationships. Roughly 1 in 6 sellers (16%) worried the service or support of a low-commission agent would be worse than a traditional agent, 15% worried the home would sell for less, and 10% doubted that a lower fee could deliver equal quality.
Some sellers nearly chose a discount agent. Among sellers who did not use one, 25% considered a low-commission brokerage before choosing a traditional agent.
Trust in low commission realtors is soft rather than hostile. Nearly a third (31%) would trust an agent charging a 1.5% listing fee to do as good a job as one charging the traditional 3%, and another 41% say they “probably” would trust one.
Only 15% say you get what you pay for and that a discount agent's quality would not be as good as a traditional agent.
For the sellers who did try a discount broker, the tradeoff most others feared did not materialize. They kept more of their equity from paying less in commission and still got the service and the sale price they’d expect from a full-price agent.
Methodology
Clever Real Estate surveyed 500 Americans who sold a home they lived in within the past two years. The survey ran July 10 to 14, 2026.
About Clever Real Estate
Clever Real Estate allows sellers to compare top-rated discount real estate brokers and low-commission real estate agents in their local area. Since 2017, Clever's nationwide agent-matching service has connected more than 250,000 customers with agents and saved consumers more than $250 million on Realtor fees, earning a 5-star Trustpilot rating across 4,400 customer reviews. Clever's library of educational content and data-driven research reaches over 12 million readers annually and has been featured in The New York Times, Business Insider, Inman, Housing Wire, and many more.
- Just 1 in 12 sellers (8%) say a traditional 6% real estate commission would have been fair for the service they received.
- Half of sellers (51%) say a total commission of 3% or less would have been reasonable, roughly half the traditional rate.
- More than 1 in 8 sellers (13%) say they would rather pay a flat fee of $1,000 to $3,000 than a percentage of the sale price.
- Sellers paid more than they call fair: 42% paid a total commission of 5% or more, including 14% who paid exactly 6%.
- Perception lags the market, as 38% of sellers believe a 6% total commission is still standard, while only 16% actually paid 6% or more.
- Just 1 in 3 sellers who used an agent (33%) tried to negotiate their commission, and 56% never tried at all. The remaining 11% used a brokerage with a set discounted rate.
- Among sellers who asked for a lower commission, 93% received one, meaning only 7% were turned down.
- Among sellers who received a commission reduction, 90% of their agents cut at least 0.5 percentage points off their rate and 45% cut a full percentage point or more.
- Half of sellers whose agents lowered their commission rate (50%) say simply asking directly was what brought it down.
- Nearly 1 in 5 sellers whose agents lowered the rate (18%) say their agent offered the lower rate without being asked.
- Men are 54% more likely than women to negotiate: Among sellers who used an agent, 41% of men asked for a lower commission, compared with 26% of women. Once they asked, both were almost exactly as likely to get a reduction.
- Among sellers who never negotiated their commission, 35% did not know they could and 37% thought the rate already seemed fair.
- Most sellers never comparison shop, as 65% of sellers who used an agent interviewed only one before choosing.
- Nearly half of sellers who used an agent (45%) found that agent through a personal connection.
- Agents are rarely the obstacle: Only 5% of sellers who never negotiated their commission say their agent told them the rate was not negotiable.
- Most sellers (59%) did not understand that covering the buyer's agent commission was optional, and only 41% knew before listing.
- More than 1 in 4 sellers (26%) thought commission was a fixed, standard rate they could not change.
- Awareness is the biggest barrier to discount brokers, as 41% of sellers did not know low-commission brokerages existed.
- Among sellers who used a discount or low-commission agent, 82% say the service was as good as or better than a traditional agent, including 22% who say it was much better.
- Most sellers who used a discount agent (69%) say their home did not sell for less than it would have with a traditional agent.
- Among sellers who did not use one, 25% considered a low-commission brokerage before choosing a traditional agent.
- Trust is soft rather than hostile: 31% of sellers would trust an agent charging a 1.5% listing fee to do as good a job as one charging the traditional 3%, and another 41% probably would.
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FAQs
The 6% real estate commission is no longer standard, but many sellers still think it is. Among sellers who sold a home in the past two years, only 16% paid a total commission of 6% or more, and just 14% paid exactly 6%. Even so, 38% of sellers believe 6% is the standard rate today, but only 8% say a 6% commission would have been fair for the service they received.
Total real estate commission rates now cluster between 3% and 6%, with no single dominant rate, so the average realtor commission is better read as a range than a number. Among recent sellers, 72% paid a total of 3% or more in realtor fees, 55% paid 4% or more, and 42% paid 5% or more. Another 12% paid no commission at all because they sold without an agent.
Real estate commission is negotiable, and it works far more often than sellers expect. Among sellers who asked their agent for a lower realtor commission rate, 93% received a reduction, and half of those sellers (50%) say simply asking directly was what brought it down. The real obstacle is that just 33% of sellers who used an agent asked at all.
The fair price sellers name sits well below what they actually paid. Half (51%) say a total commission of 3% or less would have been reasonable for the service they received, and 30% name 3% exactly. More than 1 in 8 (13%) would rather pay a flat fee of $1,000 to $3,000 than a percentage of the sale price in real estate agent fees.
Sellers who used a low-commission realtor report an experience on par with paying a traditional rate. Among sellers who used a discount agent, 82% said the service was as good as or better than a traditional agent, and 69% said their home did not sell for less. Awareness is a bigger barrier than quality, as 41% of all sellers did not know low-commission realtors even existed.