NC Hybrid Real Estate Brokerages: Pros & Cons

Are you a new or prospective real estate broker in North Carolina? If so, you may be weighing the pros and cons of different types of brokerages, such as traditional vs. hybrid real estate brokerages. Before you decide which type of brokerage is right for you, be sure to review your options and investigate the advantages and disadvantages of each. To help you out, we’ve put together some info on hybrid real estate brokerages in North Carolina.

• Hybrid real estate brokerages offer an alternative to traditional brokerages, often replacing commissions with flat fees and a la carte services.
• These brokerages combine aspects of traditional and discount models, providing services like pricing advice and sale negotiation while offering lower listing commissions or flat fees.
• Pros include attracting a volume business, connecting with tech-savvy millennial buyers, specialized roles within the brokerage, and some hybrids offering salary plus benefits.
• Cons include lower average income, lack of the high earning potential associated with traditional brokerages, fixed work schedules, and limited opportunities for mentorship under experienced brokers.
• Choosing the right brokerage depends on matching the company’s structure and philosophy with your career goals and preferences.

Before Redfin and Zillow and 3-D video tours became the techno-tools for finding a property, real estate brokers guided clients through the minefields of buying and selling a house. Today, the vast majority of home buyers rely on the internet as a primary research tool. Searchers may find a home on , view the property on their smartphone, and figure out how to write a sales contract on You Tube.

The broker still plays a role in the sale, but he or she is no longer the gatekeeper who can regularly and unquestionably command a 6% commission.

Hello, hybrid real estate brokerages. The hybrid brokerage model is a sales alternative that, in some cases, replaces commissions with flat fees and offers a menu of a la carte services. Mainstays of traditional real estate brokerages, like manning a Sunday open house or printing a glossy brochure, are hybrid line items that determine how much a client pays for services rendered.

The “hybrid” part of the title admits that these brokerages also offer some services pioneered by their traditional and discount predecessors, like advising on price and negotiating a sale. And in reality, traditional shops have always adjusted commissions in a down market or for loyal customers. So there aren’t as many differences between the two models as each might want you to think.

“Indeed, the relationship between hybrid and traditional brokerages may be more symbiotic than adversarial,” says an Inman report titled How Hybrids Brokerages Are Changing Real Estate. “The two types of brokerages are feeding off each other, breeding new business models that offer something from both worlds.”

Hybrids typically veer away from traditional broker commissions that hover at 6% and are split between listing and buyers’ agents. Hybrids often discount the listing commission from 3% to 1% to 2% (it can’t mess with the buyer’s agent commission or risk a punishing shun). Or they charge a flat listing fee—sometimes thousands—and provide a commission rebate. Redfin, the largest and most famous hybrid brokerage nationwide, hands 15% to 45% of commissions back to buyers.

Here are some advantages and disadvantages of working for a hybrid real estate brokerage:

• Flat fees and low commissions can attract a volume business that lets you begin relationships with many, and hopefully, life‑long clients.
• Techno-advanced hybrid brokerages easily connect with millennial home buyers. Millennia ls do a tremendous amount of research for homes and agents online, then hire an agent to shepherd them through the buy/sell process, according to Zillow.
• Some hybrid brokerages have a division of labor—a field broker shows the house, another draws up documents, a third may handle closings. If you’re a people person, you may be able to land a job as a field broker and never have to fill out a disclosure…