Realtor Income - Not What You Think
6%, a common commission, seems like a lot. Keep in mind there are many expenses when marketing a home. First, a REALTOR and their Broker must maintain offices to serve the public. Advertisement is another very large expense. Brokers must also pay insurance to protect against potential lawsuits and claims, just like a Dr.
Every REALTOR must be sponsored by a Broker (often the owner of the business) in order to practice. The Broker takes a large cut of the commission to support their business. Often, the split is roughly half. And, if you are part of a national franchise, they take a portion as well.
So, between a buyer's and seller's agent in a transaction, each side is making around 3%. Then, they are splitting that with their Broker. A typical agents commission on a sale is between 1 and 2 percent. That agent bears many costs for a transaction themselves, so the take is not what a lot of people think.
You can make a living, but the average REALTOR is just getting by along with the rest of America.
Finally, for every deal that closes, a REALTOR has worked on 10-20 that have not. There is a lot of work that results in no income.
I really love my job, so none of this is a complaint. Just good for people to know that a REALTOR works hard for their commission and is not walking away from a deal with a commission worth several percent of the transaction.