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| | KENNETH HARNEY: Midwest sellers pay high commissions (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-20) |
 | | Based on internal financial data supplied by nearly 900 of the largest real estate brokerage firms across the country, the average commission paid by consumers for home sales last year in the United States was 5.06 percent. |
 | | The commission data come from the realty industry's only comprehensive annual survey, where firms voluntarily provide their internal financial data, cost structures, subsidiary income, commission income, sales agent compensation and other corporate data to an independent research firm, Littleton, Colo.,-based Real Trends Inc., cofounded by Steve Murray. |
 | | For several years, the survey has documented declining average commission rates, pushed by aggressive competition among realty firms, booming sellers' markets in large swaths of the country and the rapid spread of discount and limited-service realty listing firms, both online and off line. |
| www.freep.com /realestate/renews/harney25_20040725.htm (760 words) |
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