Three Condos Left at Ruby on Eastlake

Congrats on Ruby getting down to only three units left. Though I’m puzzled about this tweet yesterday:

Three condos left at Ruby on Eastlake. Seller is offering 6% SOC through this Sunday, May 2nd only!

For those who don’t know, SOC stands for selling office commission. It’s the amount of money the buyer’s agent will receive in exchange for bringing a buyer. Typically in Seattle its 3%. For Ruby, until Sunday, it’s a whopping 6%! In the case the seller is trying to move these units by making them more attractive to real estate agents in the hopes they’ll drag their clients out to them and have them write an offer.

However, Urban Living wonders, why not make them more attractive to buyers by offering an additional 3% closing bonus? Or reduce prices 3%?
It would probably generate more interest and wouldn’t rely on the agent doing the right thing to disclose the “super-size” commission up-front.

This why you should always ask not just how your agent is compensated but how their compensation varies for the different homes they may be showing you.