I probably receive 3-5 calls a week from Liberty Village residents that go something like this:
“I just received your letter in the mail. I’m thinking of selling my condo. How much commission do you charge?”
Given this is a regular occurrence and given the fact that I have been selling condos in Liberty Village since 2003 (yes, that’s before there were condos in Liberty Village:) and have heard the question for over 10 years I can confidently say that commission is extremely important for people contemplating a condo sale.
So let’s get down to it. NOBODY actually WANTS to pay commission to sell a condo. I get that. Commissions can make up a significant selling expense (often cases it can be about 5% + HST). On a $350,000 sale that can amount to almost $20,000. That’s significant.
Unless you decide to try the private “For Sale By Owner” strategy, which can but rarely works, you will be paying a commission on the sale of your condo. How much you pay depends on the agent you use.
There is a perception when interviewing Realtors that we are all built the same so the one that charges the lowest commissions are the ones to go with. Unfortunately, there are plenty of sellers out there that have learnt that this simply isn’t the case. If this was true I would say yes, go for the lowest commissioned agent.
Case in point: a short time ago, we were hired to sell a 2-storey condo at 55 East Liberty. We sold it for $389,000. A few months after that another 2-storey unit in the same building with the same layout and square-footage and inclusions sold for $349,000. That’s a $40,000 difference or about 11%.Let’s say we charged 5% (in many cases we don’t) and the other agent charged 4%. The extra $4,000 on commission is still a
There are different versions of “full service”
no-brainer given the $40,000 premium sale price we were able to achieve. Sure, it’s a bit of an extreme example so let’s look at one more…
A short time ago we were hired to sell a small studio condo at 50 Lynn Williams St. We sold it for the full asking price of $215,000. Shortly before our listing sold, the same unit 3 floors below sold for $194,000, or $21,000 less. Given this selling price difference, would we be worth an extra $2,200? Simple math says yes.
The point is this. It’s not the commission that counts. It is the bottom line that matters. How much money you save on commission, going with an inexperienced, out-of-area Realtor with no solid marketing strategy or reach really won’t “save” you anything if the selling price is inferior. It can end up costing you a lot more. Just ask the 2 sellers in the above real-life examples.
Here’s the best news. We, who do have years of local experience, a customized Liberty Village-specific marketing strategy and TWO websites that attract hundreds of buyers a day looking to make Liberty Village their home, have some of the most competitive commission rates in the game. So, not only will we often get you better results, we will probably charge you less than you would expect. You will be surprised.
Email me at [email protected] for more info or to book your listing consultation. You are also welcome to call me at 416-520-0779.
Michael Camber is the #1 selling Realtor is Liberty Village, in both units and dollar volume.
