What is the typical real estate commission in Calgary?
Commission in Calgary is negotiable, and the structure most commonly seen in the market is 7% on the first $100,000 of the sale price and 3% on the balance of the sale, plus GST. You will hear that split from many Calgary brokerages, which is why it feels like a rule. It is not one. It is a convention, and the figure that applies to your sale is whatever you and your brokerage agree and write into the listing agreement before the home goes on the market.
Two things follow from that. First, there is no reason to assume the structure above is what you will pay; ask. Second, the useful question is rarely “what is the rate?” on its own. It is “what does the rate buy, and what happens in the situations the brochure does not mention?” The rest of this page works through those.
Is real estate commission negotiable in Alberta?
Yes, always. Alberta has no standard, fixed or legally set commission rate, and the Competition Act prohibits brokerages from agreeing rates among themselves. Every brokerage sets its own fee, every agreement is between you and that brokerage, and the Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA) requires it to be in writing. Structures vary: a percentage with a split like the one above, a flat fee, a lower percentage with fewer services, or a combination.
Negotiable does not mean lower is automatically better. A fee buys a plan for selling your home, and a plan that costs less but prices the home wrong or markets it thinly can cost more than the saving at the closing table. Compare what each agent will do, in writing, and then compare the fee; how to choose a listing agent in Calgary has the questions in order.
Who pays the REALTOR® commission in Calgary?
Conventionally the seller does. The commission is paid out of the sale proceeds at closing by the seller's lawyer, who deducts it, along with the mortgage payout and the other adjustments, before sending the balance to the seller. It is not a separate invoice and nothing is paid up front.
The buyer typically does not pay their own REALTOR® directly. The listing brokerage ordinarily offers a portion of the agreed commission to the brokerage that brings the buyer, so the buyer's agent is paid from the same transaction. The exceptions, such as a private sale or a listing that offers less than a buyer's agreement provides for, are covered in how is a buyer's REALTOR® paid in Calgary?
Is GST charged on real estate commission in Alberta?
Yes. Commission is a service, so GST applies on top of the commission itself, at the federal rate. Alberta has no provincial sales tax, so GST is the only tax on the fee. When an agent quotes a structure, ask whether the figure is before or after GST; the convention in Calgary is to quote before, with GST added, which is what “plus GST” means above. The GST appears on your statement of adjustments at closing, beside the commission it is charged on.
GST on commission is separate from the question of GST on the home itself. Resale homes are generally exempt; new construction is not. That belongs with the other costs of a sale, which are set out in how much it costs to sell a house in Calgary.
How is the commission split between the two brokerages?
The seller agrees one total commission with the listing brokerage. When the listing goes on the MLS® System, the listing brokerage states what portion of that total it will pay to a cooperating brokerage, meaning the one whose agent brings the buyer. At closing the lawyer pays the listing brokerage, which pays the cooperating brokerage its portion, and each brokerage then pays its own agent under whatever arrangement they have.
The portion offered to the buyer's side is set by the listing brokerage and the seller, and it varies, so it is a question to ask rather than assume. Two consequences matter to a seller. If the buyer arrives without an agent, the whole fee does not automatically shrink; what happens is whatever your listing agreement says, which is one of the questions below. And if the portion offered to buyers' agents is unusually low, ask your agent how that is likely to affect showings.
What is usually included in the commission?
For a full-service listing in Calgary the fee ordinarily covers the work of pricing and preparing the home, the MLS® listing and its syndication to the public portals, professional photography and usually video or a floor plan, the marketing of the listing, showings and the handling of feedback, negotiation of offers and conditions, and the management of the file through to possession. What is included varies by brokerage and by agreement, which is why the first question below exists.
What questions should I ask about commission before I list?
- What exactly is included for this fee? Photography, video, floor plans, staging consultation, paid advertising, open houses: ask for the list in writing, and whether any of it is billed separately.
- What happens if I find the buyer myself? Some agreements reduce the fee when the seller introduces the buyer; some do not. The answer belongs in the agreement, not in a conversation you will not be able to prove later.
- What portion is offered to the buyer's brokerage? And how does that compare with what other listings in my price range are offering?
- What are the cancellation terms? How long the agreement runs, how you end it early, and whether any fee is owed if you do, including a “holdover” clause that applies if you later sell to a buyer the agent introduced.
- Is the quoted figure before or after GST?
- What does the fee look like in writing? Ask to see the listing agreement before you decide. In Alberta the agreement is where the commission lives; anything that is not in it is not agreed.
Where we stand
Since you should ask every agent this, here is our answer. Like every brokerage in Alberta, our commission is negotiable and agreed in writing in the listing agreement; the structure commonly seen in the Calgary market, and the one most of our listing conversations start from, is 7% on the first $100,000 of the sale price and 3% on the balance, plus GST. We do not compute a figure for a home we have not seen, because the agreement for your sale may differ from that structure. The rest of what is checkable about us, including who licenses us and what our listings have sold for against the market, is on Calgary Listings Group facts, licensing and how we charge. If you want the commission conversation in person, book a call.