The height of a real estate agent's commission
A real estate agent costs an average of 1.32% of the sales proceeds of the house. Converted, the costs of a real estate agent for selling a house are on average €3,650. That is the average commission for selling a house. Different rates apply for purchasing.
The national average rate doesn't really help you if you plan to sell your house yourself. There are enormous differences per price range of houses, per city, and per trade association.
1. Expensive houses and cheap houses
To find out what a real estate agent or sales agent costs, the price range of the house is important. Here's how it works: for a smaller house, real estate agents charge a higher percentage than for larger houses.
See below the costs as a percentage of the sales proceeds, per price range:
2. Differences per city
Besides the price range, there are also major differences in real estate agent costs per city. For example, Amsterdam is one of the cheapest cities to hire a sales agent, and Utrecht is the most expensive.
The top-4 cheapest real estate agents per city:
- Amsterdam real estate agents charge 1.15% of the sales proceeds
- The Hague: 1.23%
- Rotterdam: 1.36%
- Utrecht is the most expensive city for real estate agent costs at 1.42%
3. Rates of real estate agents per trade association
A trade association is an umbrella organization with which a real estate agent can affiliate. Such an organization checks the real estate agent for quality and offers courses to real estate agents for improvement.
By far the best-known trade association is the NVM. There are also VBO and VastgoedPRO. Joining a trade association is not mandatory for a real estate agent. Therefore, there are also real estate agents who are not affiliated.
Top-3 cheapest real estate agents per trade association
- VBO real estate agents charge 1.26% of the sales proceeds
- VastgoedPRO real estate agents: 1.38%
- NVM Real estate agents are the most expensive at 1.39%
Real estate agents who are not affiliated with a trade association are the cheapest. On average, these real estate agents charge 1.22% for selling a house.
4. Costs of an internet real estate agent
In addition to the well-known, local real estate agent, there is also the possibility to hire a so-called ‘internet real estate agent’. These online real estate agents let you perform the most time-consuming parts of the sales process yourself, such as writing the sales text, guiding the viewings, and in some cases making the photos for Funda.
Because not the real estate agent, but you are getting started with this, the costs remain low. This is reflected in the costs that internet real estate agents charge:
Note that with internet real estate agents, the costs are usually incurred upfront, regardless of whether they succeed in selling the house. In fact, internet real estate agents therefore only charge (higher) startup costs.
