Real Estate commissions are negotiable regardless of how uncomfortable you may feel; all real estate fees are up for discussion. Some agents will agree to a fee reduction right from the beginning, others will want to discuss it. But nobody will feel upset that you asked, it is expected. Commissions paid by a seller are divided with about half going to the listing side and the rest to the selling side; it's not always a 50/50 division. Only licensed real estate brokers can receive a commission.

It's permissible to ask the agent if they will discount part of their commission if they represent you in the selling and purchasing of your home. If the agent is your listing agent, they will earn the listing side of the commission and helping you to buy another home, they will earn the selling side of that transaction. One person. Two deals.

There are agents who will offer you a discount if you sell and buy a home through their agency. Real estate agents who refuse to discount fees likely believe the two transactions are separate from each other, which they are. They entail the same amount of work, whether the seller and buyer are the same person or two different and unrelated individuals. If the agent discounts listing commission for you in order to do twice the work and earn less than twice the money, they might also be hit on the selling side of the commission since they have no control over the fees another agent negotiates.

To persuade the agent to "give you a break," you might have to offer them another incentive such as referrals, sending them more business down the road.

When the same Agent represents the Seller and the Buyer this is called “dual agency”, which is not legal in some states. But where it is legal, the agent would earn both sides of the commission, the listing and the selling fees. It's called double ending a transaction, same property but two separate parties with separate interests and separate abilities to sue. The agent now has now increased their liability.

It's common to ask a listing agent if they will agree to lower their commission if they double end the deal. You have the option of negotiating this when you sign the listing agreement or when you receive an offer, but it's better if you discuss this scenario upfront, at the listing's inception.

Keep in mind that this negotiation might backfire. It could reduce the listing agent's eagerness or motivation to sell your home to his or her own buyer. Apart from their legal fiduciary responsibility to market your home to all available buyers, what is their incentive to induce a buyer to purchase your home when their fee will be reduced? Many agents agree to "variable commission" when asked because they suspect the odds are they won't represent both sides, so they're not giving up anything.