Broker for owners - benefits / advantages?

It should actually be clear to everyone that such commissions, especially when calculated as a percentage, are always a mixed calculation. Of course, one can say that if a customer is already present and maybe 1-2 viewings are done, then around €12,000 is more than well paid. Unfortunately, I have no idea how you come to around 16,000. 3% of €400,000 is €12,000, the 0.57 is tax, which only the state gets for doing nothing. The €12,000 still have to be taxed, meaning maybe around €7,000 remain, if there were no costs for ads, office, employees, advertising, etc. As said, if you sell such a property quickly, it is definitely a good deal, but that does not happen every day. Apart from that, real money is rather earned with larger investment properties, where the commission quickly reaches the mid six-figure range, and since there are only very few interested parties/buyers here, the actual time spent on viewings is even significantly less. In contrast, people who have been offering their junk property for a long time often call. These have often been offered to death, with dozens of different prices, etc. There are tear-down houses in the middle of nowhere, where even the land is "worth nothing" because the municipality practically gives away building plots so that people stay in the village. These "houses" then cost around €50,000, and you already know that no one actually buys them. However, if you offer it, many people still arrange viewings, so you only have costs and effort, but in the end nothing comes of it. Ok, I don’t even take on such houses, but there is also something in between, meaning where you might have an hourly wage between €10 and €20 when you convert the invested time and costs, but only if the property is sold. Everyone simply has to decide for themselves, but what harm does a general contract do, where you can continue to sell the house yourself without any costs? I would ALWAYS conclude this because the agent has more potential customers who might then pay a correspondingly higher price, so that in the end you as the seller still make a better deal.

Unfortunately, I have no idea how you arrive at approximately 16,000.-. 3% of 400,000 € is 12,000 €, the 0.57 is sales tax, which only the state receives for doing nothing.

Calculated backwards: 4.75% broker commission less VAT makes just under 4% of 400k which makes 16,000 EUR...

...but it doesn’t matter whether it’s 16k or 12k. I was only interested in where which work and costs arise. Mixed calculation is certainly an aspect, yet I get the impression of a stark disproportion between effort and fee, which may also be due to the distant view from the outside.

However, the question of why you take money from buyers for services that you provide to the seller unfortunately remains unanswered....

Everyone just has to decide for themselves, but what harm does a general mandate do, where you can still sell the house yourself and have no costs at all? I would ALWAYS conclude this because the agent has more potential customers who might then pay a correspondingly higher price, so that in the end the seller still makes a better deal.

You still haven’t addressed why exactly the buyer should pay the broker’s commission.

I also don’t quite understand what advantage there should be in offering your house through a broker, except that it rather deters potential buyers because of the commission.

Why do you think you can access more potential buyers than if you list the property on Scout or similar? Twenty years ago, when there was no Immoscout, I could well imagine that, but not anymore nowadays. Are these then the over 70-80 year olds who don’t know how to use a PC or smartphone?

There are many reasons to take the realtor. Mrs. G. comes from Wolfenbüttel. She married here. Parents pass away. Mrs. G. and her sister, who also lives far away, inherit the parental home in W. They hire a realtor to sell it. Mrs. A. passes away shortly after her husband preceded her. Three children live scattered across Europe. Realtor. Couple A. from Hamburg wants a holiday home by the sea. They hire a realtor to search here. Company K. sells a building. Realtor should fix it. Mr. S. wants to get rid of three rented apartments. Realtor. And so on. Karsten

It is customary here that normally both buyer and seller each pay 3% plus VAT, but of course both sides can negotiate. If someone wants to sell a €500,000 house and says they will only pay 1.5%, then you can do that or not. If the house is very likely to sell well, you do it anyway. Similarly, the buyer could say they cannot afford more than €550,000 including additional purchase costs, and then you can say ok, they only have to pay, for example, €10,000. This is all freely negotiable and is often done this way here at least. With Immoscout, it is exactly what many think, but it is not. There are numerous portals, including free ones, and there are still many people in Germany who have unsuccessfully searched for something suitable themselves for 1-2 years and therefore have no desire to continue and hire a real estate agent. This means that these people are eventually willing to spend more than someone who has just started searching. If the price is set a bit higher here anyway (many want to negotiate anyway), then that person might be willing to pay more than someone who has just begun looking. Also, nowadays there are very often people who move because of their job and then hire an agent at their new place of residence. These people are often under time pressure and for that reason alone are more often willing to spend more than usual. One should also not ask the question if one "absolutely" needs this or if one can sell their house without it, but rather see the agent as an opportunity who might sell the house faster and/or for a higher price. And as I said, with a general contract you have 0.0 disadvantages but only additional options. If you sell the house privately with proof, you have zero costs or obligations towards the agent and the contract is terminated. If the agent has a buyer whom you did not reach with your private advertisement, then you have this as an additional option and even if you do not like that person and he would pay the asked price, you do not have to sell to him. You always have the final say yourself with your signature at the notary. Therefore, there is no disadvantage.

With Immoscout, it is exactly what many think, but it is not the case. There are numerous portals, including free ones, and there are still many people in Germany who have unsuccessfully searched for something suitable themselves for 1-2 years and therefore no longer feel like it and hire an agent. This means these people are eventually also willing to spend more than someone who has just started searching.

Yes, there are several portals, but most properties are also listed multiple times.
Sure, it may be that there are people who don’t feel like searching for whatever reason. On the other hand, due to the market situation, there are still very many potential buyers who have been searching just as long or longer and therefore are immediately willing to pay a higher purchase price.

You can talk about it as much as you want, it remains simply outrageous that the buyer is supposed to pay even a single cent in commission. What is the difference for a buyer whether the agent shows him the house or the owner?