If you're planning to sell your Florida home, but want to know how much realtor fees typically are, read this in-depth guide on all the selling costs in the Sunshine State.
If you're considering cashing in on the hot real estate market, how much you pay in real estate commissions (and how that impacts your profit) can influence your decision to sell in Florida.
A realtor fee, or a commission, is what homeowners pay real estate agents for their part in the sales transaction. This is typically a one-off fee that is negotiated when you sign your listing agreement and is paid at closing out of your gross profit.
Although the seller pays the total commission, it’s divided between the listing agent and the buyer’s agent.
The average real estate commission in Florida is between 5% and 6% of the total sales price for residential homes. Some brokerages also charge transaction fees; however, this varies, so be sure to ask any agent you work with if they have additional fees.
The seller almost always pays the realtor fees in Florida. Half of the commission goes to the listing agent for all their work marketing and selling the home; the other half is an incentive for buyer’s agents to show the home to their clients.
When deciding the list price of your home, it is prudent to take the total commission into account to ensure you achieve the net total you need.
Selling your property in Florida typically costs sellers an additional 1% to 2% of the total sales price in closing costs. These costs include recording fees, municipal lien searches, title searches, prorated taxes, among other things.
The state of Florida also requires sellers to pay a tax on the transfer of their property. This is called a "documentary stamp tax" or "doc stamp" for short. Documentary stamp tax in Florida is charged at a rate of $7.00 per $1,000 of the total sales price. For example, a house sold at the average home value of $235,500 in Florida would cost the seller $1,648.50 in doc stamp.
It is important to note that Miami-Dade county has a lower documentary stamp tax: just $6.00 per $1,000 of the total sales price.
The seller and the buyer both have their own respective closing costs to pay. Seller closing costs include lien searches and title services, and expenses related to selling their home. Buyers often have financing expenses to pay, such as their loan origination fee and appraisal costs.
