What Percentage Does a Real Estate Brokerage Take?
May 18, 2026
New agents commonly keep 50 to 70 percent, rising with production. Here is how splits, caps and fees combine, and why the headline split is misleading.
New agents commonly keep 50 to 70 percent of their side of the commission, with the brokerage taking the rest. That share typically improves as production rises. But the headline split is not what determines your take-home, because fees are usually charged on top of it.
The four models
Nearly every brokerage is a variation on one of these, and each one splits the money differently.
| Model | How it works | Typical new-agent share |
|---|---|---|
| Traditional split | A fixed percentage, improving with production | 50 to 70 percent |
| Capped split | A split until you have paid the brokerage a set annual amount, then you keep most or all | 70 to 80 percent until the cap |
| 100 percent or flat fee | You keep nearly everything and pay a monthly or per-file fee | Close to 100 percent, minus fees |
| Team | You join a team, often with leads provided, at a lower split | 25 to 50 percent |
Why the headline split is misleading
Because most brokerages also charge fees that do not depend on the split, and those fees change what you actually keep.
A 70 percent split with a $200 monthly desk fee and a $495 per-transaction fee can pay you less than a 60 percent split with nothing on top, particularly at low volume. The fewer transactions you do, the more the fixed fees matter, which means the headline split matters least in exactly the year most agents choose a brokerage.
How to calculate your effective split
Work it through on a single transaction rather than comparing percentages.
| Step | Example |
|---|---|
| Your side's commission on a $350,000 sale at 3 percent | $10,500 |
| Less brokerage split at 70/30 | minus $3,150 |
| Less per-transaction fee | minus $495 |
| Less one month of desk fee | minus $200 |
| You receive | $6,655 |
| Effective split | about 63 percent, not 70 |
At three transactions a year the desk fee is spread across far fewer deals, so the effective split drops further. Run this calculation for your own expected volume before comparing any two brokerages.
What is a cap?
A cap is a maximum the brokerage will take from you in a given year. Once you have paid it, you keep most or all of your commission for the rest of that year.
Caps favor high producers and mean very little to a first-year agent, who is unlikely to reach one. Two details matter if you are offered a capped model: whether monthly fees continue after the cap, and when the cap year resets. A cap resetting on your anniversary is very different from one resetting in January if you join in November.
Does the split improve automatically?
Only if it is written down. Ask for the specific, numeric threshold at which it improves, and get it in writing.
We review it annually means it improves when they feel like it. A written threshold, such as a split that improves after a stated volume or a stated number of transactions, is a commitment you can plan around.
What are the fees called?
They vary by brokerage and are easy to miss because they appear under different names.
- Desk fee or office fee. Monthly, regardless of production.
- Technology fee. Monthly, for systems you may or may not use.
- Franchise fee. A percentage off the top at some branded brokerages, taken before the split.
- Transaction or admin fee. Per file, and very commonly unmentioned until the first closing.
- E and O insurance. Sometimes included, sometimes billed separately.
Ask for the total monthly figure you would pay in a month where you close nothing. That single number tells you more about a brokerage's economics than the split does.
What does the brokerage do with their share?
Worth asking directly, because the answer varies enormously and it is what you are actually buying.
At a well-run brokerage the split funds broker supervision, contract review, training, errors and omissions coverage, compliance, office space and administrative support. At a poorly run one it funds recruiting.
The question that reveals which you are dealing with is who reviews my contracts, by name. If there is no name, you are paying a percentage for a license to hang and not much else.
Do you also pay when you buy or sell your own home?
Usually yes, and it surprises people.
Most brokerages take their split on a personal transaction just as they would on any other, though some reduce or waive it. It is worth asking before you sign, particularly if you expect to buy or sell within the first couple of years.
The same applies to referral income you send out of state. Ask how referrals are treated, because policies differ and it is easier to know in advance than to discover at closing.
Is a higher split always better?
No, and in year one it frequently is not.
A 100 percent brokerage looks like free money on a spreadsheet, and 100 percent of nothing is nothing. Those models generally provide little training, little oversight and no accountability, which is difficult for a new agent.
The difference between a 60 and a 70 percent split across the two or three transactions a realistic first year produces is roughly $2,000. The difference between having someone review your first contract and not having that can be the transaction itself. Pay for support in year one and optimize the split in year three.
Eighteen questions to ask before you sign, including the six on money, with what the answers actually mean and a side-by-side comparison sheet so you can score three brokerages on effective split rather than headline split.
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