One of the most expensive homes ever for sale in America is on the market. Known as Le Palais Royal, the 60,000-square-foot estate with its own ice-skating rink, subterranean go-kart track and bowling alley, can be yours for the mere sum of $159 million.
And while that astronomical price tag is sure to boggle the mind of all but the world’s 0.001-percenters, here’s another staggering figure to consider: the commission that the listing agent stands to make once this modern-day castle north of Miami sells. That check is going to contain a hell of a lot of zeros. Let’s do the math:
Brokers usually charge a 6-7 percent commission on the sale of the home. Generally, the listing brokerage (the agency selling the house) gets 55 percent of that total commission and the buyer’s agency gets 45 percent. The agencies then typically split the commission 50/50 with the agent.
So, let’s say the commission on the sale of Le Palais Royal is 6 percent. Six percent of $159 million comes in at $9.5 million. Now let’s split that sum with 55 percent ($5.2 million) going to the agency selling the house and 45 percent ($4.3 million) going to the buyer’s agency. Now divide those sums in half and you get a general idea of what the individual agents themselves would make.
Mayi De La Vega, the Sotheby’s One agent who reportedly has the listing for the Le Palais Royal, could make $2.6 million once she lands a buyer for the house. Not bad for a day’s work, eh?
In fairness, though, chances are that De La Vega won’t make quite that much on the sale of Le Palais Royal. Homes that sell for colossal sums like that usually come with a prearranged commission lower than the typical 6-7 percent factored in most normal home sales. Still, say that De La Vega makes only half of what we calculated? It’s still a hell of a payday – one with six zeros on the check.