I was surprised recently when I learned that average real estate commissions were not 6 percent, as you often hear, but in fact much closer to 5 percent. The following figures--provided by ForSaleByOwner.com, an arch enemy of real estate brokers--confirm that while average real estate commissions edged higher in 2008, to 5.20 percent, they remain well below 6 percent. (Note: the rate data comes from Real Trends.)

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ken weeks of MD 11:35AM July 15, 2009
alex of NY 2:11AM March 23, 2009