Why and to what end? This would only be used to criticize my decision.

Examples:

-Ah, you sold it in 35 days, if you used (insert favorite agent here) it would have sold in ten days.

-So you sold it in two days, you would have sold it for more if you used (insert firm name here).

You see in cyber world people tend to feel much better if they made a better decision than some other poster.

Meanwhile, I called four TV RE agents to see if 5% commission is the new normal. No one answered. Had anyone else tried to confirm or deny this?

I didn't skip the last thirty three years of my life as a Contracting Officer, Inspector General (Contacts), Retired Guy has it right. The next RE agent who know much about contracts will be the first one.

A buyers real estate agent has a fiduciary duty to show their clients all the houses on the market that fit their criteria list. If they neglect to show homes to their clients, which fit their criteria list and are listed on the MLS, because they are unhappy with the terms of the listing agreement, then they are not fulfilling their responsibility as a real estate agent. If that is the case, fire their a$$ and get an agent that acts in accordance with the terms of their real estate license.

On the other hand, if you are working with a Villages Real Estate agent, all bets are off. The only code of ethics they have is what is dictated by the developer. Buyer and seller take note of that and accordingly take appropriate actions to protect your financial interest.

That’s what I did

Only if you buy AND sell using a Villages agent.

Only if you buy AND sell using a Villages agent.

Agents and Commission
 

I am an MLS agent with Exit Realty and a Villages resident.

There is no “normal” or “typical” Commission everything is negotiable.

And I myself need to make money to support myself but would always put my clients best interest first.

Putting yourself first will always come back to bite you.

Success in the real estate world is all about relationships and referrals.

Which realtor did you use that gave you 3%?

If you have to pay for your pics what exactly do you do for your fee?

Agree. We decided to sell our villa a few years ago and the listing agent encouraged us to take a less than full price offer. We agreed after she agreed to reduce her commission by $5000. So it certainly is negotiable.

Not really. Any business transaction is negotiable, most especially real estate sales.

In other places I've lived:
Normally a realtor commission for residential property is 6%.
3% split between listing agent and their listing agency. 3% split between selling agent and their selling agency.
You as owner/seller can negotiate a lower commission.
You can also add a bonus amount for selling agent if property is sold within a certain amount of time/date as incentive.
Or you can FSBO, pay attorney to handle contract and closing.

Ah, I thought that I made this clear in post #4, try looking there.

To be clear I don't have to pay for pictures. I wanted the highest quality pictures. I controlled that by choosing who took the pictures. I would do the same for any RE agent. I didn't choose a photographer based on price or availability, I simply chose the best. Take Brick House, TV RE agents photographer, some pics are very good, most are fair to good. I wanted Superior
pictures and that is exactly what I got.

As a realtor for 45 years in 2 states, I never looked at a commission when gleaning available listings to show...think about it... If you want to make the sale, you are going to align the features of a house to what the client is looking for. you are not going to waste your time and gas on listings just because of the commission rate

Also, The above quote about the man looking over the shoulder and deciding the listings are shown in order of commission rate does not make sense. Again think about it.... You line up the listings in order of which ones are closest to each other.

I listed my house on my own on Zillow and a few other sites by owner just as the pandemic was starting. We sold it in 3 days at a nice price and I paid ZERO commission I figure I paid myself about $25,000 for almost no work. The title company does all the work, not the realtor.