No. of Recommendations: 2
I have family in UK and Australia. They were shocked to hear that real estate brokerage commission is 6% of sales price in US. (Of course they are envious of our 30-yr fixed rate mortgages.) It is typically 2% or less there. Anecdotally I have heard Canada has 3% commission. In all these countries the seller pays the broker commission, not the buyer.
I also like the Aussie practice of selling via auction. A home is listed online, broker holds 2-3 open houses. An auction is held about a month later, unless the seller agrees to a private bid before. Most houses sell at the auction, and there is very little uncertainty about when and whether a house will sell.
