A la carte real estate, a new world
Buyers brokers have recently begun offering real estate commission rebates to prospective clients as an incentive to get them to enter a weak real estate market. Surprisingly, the idea is catching on in some of the states where the practice is allowed. Traditionally, real estate commissions have been calculated at five to six percent of the sale price of a home and divided between the selling and buyer brokers. The seller bears full responsibility for payment of the real estate commission; the buyer is responsible for nothing. Lately, though, buyer brokers have been giving a portion of their share of the commission to their clients in the form of a real estate commission rebate.