Technically the real estate buyer’s agent fees are free to the buyer because they are baked into the commission that the seller pays their agent. So, whether a buyer utilizes an agent in their home search or not they do not have to pay any extra money.
How much are real estate buyer agent fees in NYC?
If an agent does help a buyer find a home their commission will be split with the sale’s agent’s commission and are usually around 2-3 percent of the sale price. The fee that the sale’s agent is charging the seller is negotiable. It’s worth pointing out that if a sales agent is only charging their buyer 1-2 percent, the buyer’s agent will still want to charge their regular 2-3 percent. This will not affect the buyer unless the seller chooses to raise their sales price in order to accommodate the extra commission.
In smaller transactions around the country, factoring this commission might not be difficult to do. However, in Manhattan where the average price of a condo is $2 million, this can amount to $120,000 on a 6 percent sales commission. When split between a listing broker and buyer’s broker it’s $60,000 each of which the agents each receive, on average, 60 percent ($36,000).
