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Real estate brokerage admin fees could cost consumers nearly $2 billion

The Consumer Policy Center estimates the charges, often $400 to $600 per side, can exceed $1,000 and may be disclosed late, creating compliance risk.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Residential

The Consumer Policy Center (CPC) estimates that “administrative” brokerage junk fees tied to residential real estate transactions could cost consumers close to $2 billion annually if they are widely charged, according to a new CPC report.

The report says the fees are often $400 to $600 per buyer or seller side, but can exceed $1,000, and they are frequently labeled as “administrative” or “admin” fees, transaction fees, broker service fees, processing fees, technology fees, or regulatory compliance fees.

CPC says the charges are typically imposed by the brokerage on both the listing and buyer sides, with agents expected to pass them through to clients, and that they may be disclosed late, which the report describes as creating compliance risk.

Because the fees are generally flat dollar amounts, CPC notes they are regressive, citing examples where a $1,590 admin fee on a $412,000 sale increased the effective commission by about 0.40 percentage points and a $795 fee on a $126,900 home added roughly 0.60 percentage points.

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