H & S Real Estate Group
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As a Realtor, homebuyers often ask me what are “real estate fees” or “Commissions” in Vancouver, BC. Many home sellers also regularly asked me who pays realtor fees in BC. Real Estate commission is one of the questions many home buyers and sellers will encounter in the real estate transaction. Figuring out Realtor Fees while trying to sell a home or condo in BC is especially tricky when Realtors have a complicated commission rate structure. This blog will try to answer homebuyers’ questions regarding the real estate commission in BC. I’ll also provide an easy-to-use commission calculator to help home sellers figure out the cost of selling a house in BC.
Working as a Vancouver Realtor for the last 10 years, I have worked with many home Sellers. When meeting a seller to discuss their plan, their first question is usually “how much is my house worth?”. The second question they will ask is usually “what is the cost of selling a house in Vancouver”? Let me get right into it and answer these questions.
“Realtor Fee“, “Realtor Commission“, or “Real Estate Commission” in BC generally mean the same thing. So we’ll use these terms interchangeably.
As stated in the Competition Act of Canada, for Realtors in BC and the rest of Canada, there’s no “Standard Realtor Fee”, or “Standard Realtor Commission.” As such, each Real Estate brokerage office and Realtor in Vancouver have its own Realtor fee.
In British Columbia, the home seller is usually responsible for paying the Seller’s and Buyer’s realtor fees. However, it is also possible that the Buyer pays for the Seller’s and Buyer’s realtor fees also.
I worked with a home seller before and he didn’t want to list his property for sale on Multiple Listing Services. He knows his house is worth more than his tax assessment value because his property has recently been re-zoned for duplex development. He told me that if I there is a buyer willing to pay him 1.2 million he is prepared to sell his home. Eventually, I found a buyer for his property and the Buyer was prepared to pay the Seller 1.2 million and all the realtor fees (Buyer’s Realtor and Seller’s Realtor) as well.
RE/MAX is a real estate brokerage franchise individually owned and operated. Each brokerage has its own commission rate.
When helping a seller, I charge a Realtor Fee of 7% on the first $100,000 and 3% on the balance of the sale price for properties.
To help attract more Buyer realtors to show the Seller’s property, I typically offer 3.255% on the first $100,000 and 1.1625% on the balance of the sale price for properties to the Buyer’s realtor.
Many times Sellers are mistaken and think that they pay the Buyer’s realtor commission on top of the commission I charge. But it’s not the case. The Buyer’s commission is deducted from the total Realtor fee I charge.
Therefore, the total Real Estate Commission I would receive is 3.745% on the first $100,000 and 1.8375% on the balance of the sale price for properties.
To calculate the commission amount, let’s assume the sale price of a house is $1,000,000. Thus, 7% on the first $100,000 is equal to $7,000. Then we take the balance of the sale price, which is $900,000, and multiply it by 3.0%, we get $27,000. We then add the two amounts together, $7,000 + $27,000 we get a total of $34,000.
To help the BC Home Sellers quickly figure out the cost of selling a house in BC, I have prepared a BC real estate commission calculator. If you want to figure out the BC realtor fees when selling a home, just put in the estimated selling price of your home in the “Offer Price” box, and it will automatically calculate the Realtor fees you need to pay when selling a home. Since Realtors charge different commission rates, you can also change the commission rate in the “Total Commission Split” box.
Real estate brokerage service is like other services such as services provided by Accountants and Lawyers, and therefore are subject to the Goods and Service Tax in BC also.
In our previous example, the home sale price is $1,000,000. The realtor fee would be $34,000. We need to add $1,700 for GST on top of the realtor fee. In total, the real estate commission plus the GST on the sale of a one million dollar home in Vancouver is $35,700.
Buyer’s typically don’t pay a Realtor fee when buying a Condo in Vancouver. When buying a condo in Vancouver, if you are working with a Buyer realtor, your realtor will receive a real estate commission from the Seller. When working with a Realtor to help you buy a condo, your realtor is required to disclose to you the amount he/she will receive upon successful completion of the sale.
All the home sellers in BC need to pay Real Estate Commission regardless if the Seller is a Canadian or foreign resident (meaning you don’t have a landed immigrant or Canadian permanent resident status).
If you have any other questions about BC Realtor Fees, please feel free to contact me.
Sam Huang PREC
H & S Real Estate Group
Real Estate Coal Harbour
RE/MAX Select Properties
Address: 5487 West Boulevard, Vancouver BC V6M 3W5, Canada
Phone: 778-991-0649
WeChat: ubchomes
QQ: 2870029106
Email: Contact Me