Residential
Explore
When you sell a property, your agent's fee is one of the first things you'll discuss. The fee is entirely up to you and your chosen agent to agree on.
There's no fixed or government-set rate in Australia. This flexibility is a good thing, but it also means it's important to understand what a fair, well-structured fee arrangement looks like before you sign an agency agreement.
At Ray White, we want every customer to walk into that conversation with their potential agent with confidence.
Fees are negotiated, not prescribed
Every agency fee, including any performance-based component, is a matter for direct negotiation between a vendor and their chosen agent. We encourage our members to agree to arrangements that genuinely reflect the value they deliver. This includes the skill, effort and creativity that go into achieving the best possible result for their customer.
There's no one-size-fits-all figure. What matters isn't the number itself, but how it's arrived at, and how clearly it's explained.
It’s important to remember:
Fees typically range from around 1.5% to 3.5% of the sale price, though it can sit outside that band depending on the market and property type
Capital cities generally see lower percentage rates than regional areas
Higher-value properties often attract lower percentage rates,sometimes with a "premium" or tiered structure. This generally means a base rate is negotiated up to an agreed price, and a higher rate is applied on any price achieved above that, to incentivising the agent to push for a better result
What we expect of every arrangement
Whatever structure a vendor and agent agree on, we hold every Ray White member to the same standard. We expect:
Honesty and full transparency. The vendor should understand exactly what they're agreeing to, and why
Aligned interests, start to finish. The arrangement should keep the agent working in the vendor's interest for the entire campaign, not just up to the point of sale
Our agents will never withhold information. An agent should never be in a position where they gain by not telling their vendor something they need to know
Arrangements are agreed to upfront, before the campaign begins. Fees are settled at the start of the relationship, giving the vendor certainty from day one rather than terms that shift once a campaign is underway
Performance incentives: how we draw the line
Some agents offer a performance-based or tiered fee. For example, a base rate is negotiated up to an agreed price, then a higher rate is applied on any price achieved above that, to incentivise the agent to push for a better result.
Done well, this is a legitimate way to reward an agent for pushing harder to get a genuinely better outcome.
Done poorly, it can create the wrong incentive.
That's why we set a clear rule:
A performance incentive must always be set over a fixed base price, agreed at the outset and never linked or set to the auction reserve price.
The reserve exists for one reason only: to help achieve the best possible outcome for the vendor.
It is a tool for the vendor's benefit, not a lever for calculating an agent's pay. If an agent's fee is tied to the reserve, it changes the nature of that relationship and creates a risk that the agent's interests could edge ahead of the vendor's, something that runs against everything we expect of a Ray White agent.
Where a performance incentive is in place, it should reward one thing: a genuinely better result for the vendor. Not the management of information,not the management of expectations; a better outcome, earned.
How we hold the standard
We review fee arrangements across the Ray White network, and we engage directly with any office or agent where an arrangement doesn't meet these expectations. This isn't a once-off check, it's an ongoing part of how we protect the trust customers place in the Ray White name.
If you're selling with a Ray White agent, you can expect:
A fee arrangement discussed and agreed before your campaign starts
Full transparency on how that fee is calculated
If there's a performance incentive, it's tied to a fixed price target, never your reserve
An agent whose financial interest stays pointed in the same direction as yours, from listing to settlement
Each state has its own real estate agent licensing body and legislation (see below) that requires the commission and any other fees to be clearly disclosed in writing in the agency agreement before it's signed - but none of them set or cap the rate itself. Agents are legally required to act in the vendor's best interest regardless of the commission structure that has been agreed to.
Jurisdiction regulators include:
- NSW - Fair Trading NSW
- VIC - Consumer Affairs Victoria
- QLD - Office of Fair Trading (OFT)
- WA - Consumer Protection (DMIRS)
- NT - NT Consumer Affairs
- ACT - Access Canberra
- TAS - CBOS / Property Agents Board
- SA - Office of Consumer and Business Services (CBS)
Ray White Group, July 2026