This issue has been discussed many times. I'm more concerned why your Realtor would not even consider it? Personally, I would not do it, because I believe the buyer makes the decision, I cater to them. But if you want to try it to see if your activity improves, go for it. Were you still proposing to pay you agent 3%? Maybe he thought you were taking that 1% from him.

I agree that the buyer makes the decision. That is why I said that "all things being equal except for commission." My Realtor said flat out that Realtors would not show a house that offered less than the prevailing selling agent's commission. If this is true for most Realtors, then "catering" to the client is secondary. If an agent found 20 listings that met their buyers criteria why wouldn't they show the client listings first that offered them 4% instead of 3%? I'm looking for a marketing edge, not trying to sell a buyer something they don't want. My agent fully understood that her commission would not be affected. 3% for the listing and 4% for the selling Realtor. She just said it was a bad idea and I didn't press it.

I don't know why she wouldn't consider it. I would ask her to explain her objections. I rarely accept "Just because" as an answer anymore.

We increased our percentage to the buyer's agent - it did seem to bring in more traffic and we were able to sell in a tough, declining SoCal market last fall.

But that could have just been coincidence, too.

Instead of offering a higher commission to the buyer, why don't you reduce your price? That will make the home appeal to the ultimate decision maker - the person wanting to buy the home. Lower price means lower commission for the realtors, but if it's at the prevailing commission rate, they don't mind that way since price reduction is one of the first things they recco when a house is not selling or getting any showings.

azsailor is your house priced according to your realtors CMA? If the house is overpriced, it is not going to sell at a higher price no matter how many showings you have. If your house is priced correctly and you are just not getting the activity because of the surplus of houses on the market, I can't imagine why your realtor would think it was a bad idea. Anything that sets your house apart from the others will get more activity. Since the $5000 price reduction isnt likely to change much. (People generally search in $10,000 increments). Changing the price by $5000 isnt going to get you into another pool of buyers. I would say go ahead and try increasing the commission to the buyers agent. If the house is priced right, realtors will show it because of the commission alone. Also make sure your agent points out the commission in the "agent only remarks" of the listing.

I recommend raising the co-op commission above 3% when the home is located in an area where new construction is competition with higher commissions offered.
Offering something that will qualify more buyers is a more affective way of marketing than paying more to an agent.

I think going up to 4% is a fantastic idea! I agree it would help bring more traffic, and I would jump on that if a seller wanted to try it. (As base as human nature is, anything that brings you more traffic has a better likelihood of getting you a faster sale and higher price.)

The only reason I can fathom your agent might not want to do it is she's too proud??? Seriously, try to get a better reason from her about what she's thinking, or try approaching her broker. Even if she has a good reason, this kind of bad communication between you and your Realtor isn't a good thing.

Another option along the same line of thinking is to advertise a bonus back to the buyer. I've seen cash bonuses advertised for buyers who could close by a certain date, or $5000 gift certificates to Home Depot thrown in. I don't know how effective these are relative to sell-side commission, but they certainly don't hurt.

This issue has been discussed many times. I'm more concerned why your Realtor would not even consider it? Personally, I would not do it, because I believe the buyer makes the decision, I cater to them. But if you want to try it to see if your activity improves, go for it. Were you still proposing to pay you agent 3%? Maybe he thought you were taking that 1% from him.

This is nothing against the agents in this thread, but why are you advocating a higher commission to the buyer's agent when he could get more traffic by reducing his price and keeping the commission the same? I understand a higher commission would bring more viewings, but so would a reduction in price. To me, it sounds like the interests of the realtor are more important than the seller who is paying that commission.

I don't want to sound snarky, I'm genuinely curious. Is there something I'm missing here?

I think it depends on your market. If you are in an area where most of the houses are similar, this will help. If you are in an area where one house is an 1800 farmhouse, another is a 30s Tudor and another was built last week, I doubt it since each buyer is looking for something specific

As for the rational, it is really the buyers agent that sells the house or so the theory goes. Giving that person an incentive to show your house as opposed to some others, especially if you have buyers coming who are relocating and are only in for the weekend, increases the liklihood your house will be seen and that is the first step to getting sold.

I have noticed a trend of brokers only showing me houses listed with their agencies until they get desperate (I have very specific ideas but most people are a lot more open than I am). Especially when there is a large inventory. Knowing they will get more gives them a very personal incentive to show your house and talk it up. This in turn will sway an indecisive buyer. Maybe not every buyer but it could tip the scales

I agree with Saphire - if every potential buyer in your range has a ton of houses to look at their agent might not have time to show them every one.

Plus maybe it would create some buzz about the house among local agents. I think this approach could work well to get the "lazy" buyers in the door. The buyers who research before viewing are unlikely to get steered to you house just because it pays their agent a higher fee.

But I don't think it's going to make a huge difference. If you are going with the theory of marketing to the agents, not the buyers perhaps there are other things you could do as well? Things that make the agents want to show your house? Like have $10 Starbucks gift card out next to a "thank you, please leave a business card and enjoy a cup of coffee your showing" sign? Is that a crazy idea? Your price point is probably high enough that you won't have too many people just coming by to pocket gift cards.

Unless they take more than one

I would only leave enough out for the agent that is actually coming

Oh, yeah. You would have to keep track of the appointments. but that might be a good idea anyway. It would mean extra work for the seller, but it might also make it slightly easier to solicit feedback.