How Much Are REALTOR® Fees in Ontario?

How the commission is structured between listing and cooperating brokerages

• Total commission: agreed between seller and listing brokerage in the listing agreement. This is the gross fee that comes out of the sale proceeds at closing.
• Listing-side commission: retained by the listing brokerage and split with the listing agent according to the agent’s internal commission split. Funds the marketing, photography, video, staging consultation, MLS® distribution, open houses, and the agent’s time.
• Cooperating commission: offered to the buyer’s brokerage in the MLS® listing. This is the share that pays the buyer’s representative and is what motivates other agents to actively show your home.
• HST: 13% applies to commission in Ontario. The listing agreement quotes commission exclusive of HST; the trust statement adds it at closing.

What “negotiable” actually means in practice

RECO’s rule is consumer-protection language: no agent or brokerage can advertise a fixed industry rate, and any agent who tells you “the rate is 5%, take it or leave it” is misrepresenting the regulation. In practice, GTA full-service listings cluster around 4–5% because that’s where buyer-agents will reliably show the home and where the listing brokerage can fund a serious marketing plan.

Discount brokerages offer flat fees or lower percentages with reduced services. The trade-off shows up in marketing budget, photography and video quality, MLS® syndication, and showing coverage. For a $200K reduction in net proceeds on a $1.5M sale, you can pay full commission and end up better off; for a clean transfer between known parties, a flat fee can absolutely make sense. The right answer depends on the home and the market — see our Toronto listing agent page for what we actually do at full service.

Who pays what — and when in the closing process

On a typical Ontario residential resale, the seller pays the entire commission out of the sale proceeds at closing. The deposit (typically 5% of the purchase price) is held in the listing brokerage’s trust account from the offer-acceptance date until closing. On closing day, the buyer’s lawyer transfers the balance of funds to the seller’s lawyer, who in turn pays the listing brokerage; the listing brokerage retains its share and remits the cooperating commission to the buyer’s brokerage.

Buyers in residential resale typically pay nothing for their REALTOR® — their representation is funded through the seller’s commission. Pre-construction (where the builder may or may not pay buyer-agent commission), FSBO (where the buyer’s agent and seller negotiate directly), and assignment sales can all shift these defaults, and any deviation should be in writing in the buyer-representation agreement before showings begin.

Worked examples on a typical Toronto sale

• $1,000,000 sale at 5%: $50,000 commission + $6,500 HST = $56,500 total to the brokerages, split 2.5%/2.5%.
• $1,000,000 sale at 4.5%: $45,000 commission + $5,850 HST = $50,850 total — a $5,650 saving over the 5% structure.
• $1,500,000 sale at 4%: $60,000 commission + $7,800 HST = $67,800 total. Higher-priced homes routinely run at lower percentages because the absolute fee is still substantial.
• $2,500,000 sale at 3.75%: $93,750 commission + $12,188 HST = $105,938 total — luxury price points often see further compression.

When you compare proposals, look at the marketing plan and the cooperating commission together. A lower listing-side fee paired with a low cooperating offer can quietly shrink your buyer pool — buyer-agents do notice when a listing offers 1.5% co-op vs. 2.5%, and a meaningful share of marginal showings won’t happen. The number that matters is net proceeds, not commission rate. Use our commission calculator walkthrough to model your own scenario.

Other costs that get bundled into “fees”

Beyond the commission, sellers in Ontario typically pay legal fees ($1,500–$2,500), mortgage discharge ($300–$400), prepayment penalties (variable, sometimes substantial on closed mortgages), and any pre-listing costs (staging $1,500–$5,000, photography upgrades, repairs and touch-ups). See our breakdown of closing costs when selling a house for the full list with current Ontario figures.

Sellers do not pay Ontario Land Transfer Tax or the Toronto Municipal Land Transfer Tax — those are buyer-side costs at closing. You generally don’t pay HST on the resale of a used residential home (HST applies to new construction). And you don’t pay capital gains tax on the sale of your principal residence under the Canadian principal-residence exemption — see our guide on capital gains tax on real estate for the eligibility rules.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are buyer’s agent fees really paid by the seller?

In most Ontario residential resale transactions, yes. The seller’s listing agreement specifies a cooperating commission paid to the buyer’s brokerage at closing, and the seller funds it from the sale proceeds. Pre-construction, FSBO, and certain commercial arrangements can differ, and any deviation should be set out in writing before showings begin.

Can I really negotiate the commission with my listing agent?

Yes. RECO and TRESA require commissions to be negotiable and set out in writing. Any agent who refuses to discuss the fee, or who claims that 5% is a fixed industry standard, is a hard pass on regulatory grounds alone.

Is HST charged on top of the commission, or included?

On top. HST in Ontario is 13% and applies to real estate commission. The listing agreement typically expresses the commission percentage exclusive of HST; the trust statement at closing adds it as a separate line.

Are flat-fee or discount brokerages a good deal?

Sometimes. They lower the listing-side cost but typically reduce marketing investment, photography quality, video production, and showing support. Be clear-eyed about what is and isn’t included — ask for a written services list — and price-test against a full-service proposal on the same home.