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Tight Housing Market Has Sellers Shopping Around For Low Realtor Commission

DENVER (CBS4)- Housing prices in Denver are at record highs and that trend may be impacting how homes are sold in the metro area.

According to the Case-Shiller Index, August home prices are up 6.3 percent compared to August 2013.

A result of this trend is a rise in home prices and competition for properties in the most-valued neighborhoods.

Real Estate (2) Home for sale
(credit: CBS)

Some real estate agents are challenging the structure of the traditional three percent commission that accompanies helping homeowners buy or sell a home.

Franz Gaschler lives in a Congress Park home he grew up in. His parents purchased it 54 years ago for $16,500.

Gaschler is selling the home he inherited. He didn't take it lightly, investing a lot of time and research before he chose which real estate company sign would hang in his yard.

"I've been interviewing the last five years, 10 or 15 different real estate people," said Gaschler.

He decided on Assist 2 Sell.

"When everything is done and paid for it will cost $28,000. With others it would have been $38,000 to $39,000," said Gaschler.

Todd Barker with Assist 2 Sell explains how the commissions work at his real estate agency compared with traditional companies.

"Depending on the price range of the house, we tailor to the needs of the seller," said Barker.

With Assist 2 Sell, sellers can chose one of three programs:

If Assist 2 Sell only completes the paperwork for the sale, the seller pays $1,995.

For more traditional real estate services that include home showings and paperwork, the seller pays $2,995 and up depending on the sale price of the home. With that option the home will not be listed in the MLS, an online catalog that lists the details of a home for sale, address, square footage, the number of bedrooms, bathroom and other amenities like an attached garage and garden-level basement. The catalog also includes pictures of the home.

To get the showings, paperwork and an MLS listing with Assist 2 Sell, the seller pays a commission of 2.8 percent.

"I just didn't fell like paying a traditional commission structure," said homeowner Louis Lesser.

Real Estate (1) home for sale
(credit: CBS)

Lesser listed his home in Aurora with the alternative group Redefy Real Estate.

Jordan Connett with Redefy Real Estate said his company has a lot to offer even though their commission is considerably less than a traditional real estate company.

"A traditional real estate agent is going to charge somewhere in the neighborhood of three percent. On a home of $400,000 it's going to be about $12,000 where we are going to come in and charge a flat fee of $2,500," said Connett.

If the home sells for more than $1 million, the flat fee is one percent.

Connett said his business is booming as more people want to keep more of the proceeds from their homes.

"It's actually the way of the future," said Connett.

"Why should I make them rich?" asked Gaschler about other real estate agents.

Gaschler said the next buyer of his home will get something special with the property-- a legacy-- the same crystal punch bowl his parents received when they bought the home more than a half century ago.

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