Nevada real estate agents charge some of the highest commissions in US
Nevada has the 13th-highest real estate commission rate in the country, according to a new study.
A Clever Real Estate survey found the average commission rate in Nevada runs about 5.8 percent, which is above the national average of 5.4 percent. West Virginia has the highest rate (6.6 percent) and Hawaii came in with the lowest at (4.7 percent).
The study surveyed 630 partner agents with Clever Real Estate, a national online real estate brokerage, to calculate average commission rates.
Merri Perry, the president of the Las Vegas Realtors, said in an email response to the Las Vegas Review-Journal that they don’t know the average rate in the valley because “LVR does not track real estate commissions.”
According to the study based on national data, the listing agent of the property usually gets around 2.8 percent and the buyer’s agent gets 2.6 percent.
America’s real estate industry finds itself at a moment of reckoning after a massive settlement agreement with the National Association of Realtors and dozens of class-action lawsuits filed across the country alleging NAR used the Multiple Listing Service as a way to inflate commissions for its agents.
Nevada was hit with two copycat lawsuits that were filed earlier this year from clients who said their agents conspired to inflate the buyer and seller’s agents fees through secret negotiations.
But last week the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia made a ruling which allows the potential for the Department of Justice to renew its investigation into NAR’s practices. Multiple Las Vegas real estate agents confirmed to the Las Vegas Review-Journal that DOJ officials questioned a number of brokers in the city before the pandemic.
A Redfin study found that 28 percent of Americans who recently purchased a home had “no idea” how much their real estate agent was paid, and 17 percent had no idea how the amount was determined, according to a survey of close to 3,000 U.S. homeowners.
Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather said people should know how much their agent got paid in regards to the largest financial purchase of their lives.
“Home sellers often have a candid conversation about fees with their agent before signing an agreement to work together. Buyers would benefit from doing the same. People feel awkward talking about money, but it’s important to understand what your agent is charging and have a discussion about whether you will need to ask the seller to cover your agent’s fee as part of your offer negotiation or pay for it out of pocket.”
A Square Foot Homes study estimates that due to the NAR settlement, based on the median home sale price in Nevada, “real estate agents could see their annual earnings from 12 transactions decline from $156,093 to $78,047 if commissions were to be halved.”
The study also found that the average real estate agent in the state makes an annual income that is 181 percent higher than the national average.
Contact Patrick Blennerhassett at pblennerhassett@reviewjournal.com.