You may have heard that the standard commission is 6%, split between the listing agent and the selling agent who represents the buyer. A portion of the agents' splits then goes to the brokerage under whose banner they work. But 6% isn't the real number. The average commission rate nationwide on home sale transactions hasn't been 6% since 1992, when it was 6.04%, according to Real Trends, an industry publishing and consulting firm that obtains confidential transaction data from brokerages annually.