Buyers who relocate to Bengaluru from Delhi, Mumbai, or other cities frequently come in with assumptions about how real estate brokerage works that do not match how Bengaluru's resale market actually operates. These mismatches — usually discovered at the wrong moment — create friction that nobody benefits from.
Here is a plain explanation of how it works here.
The Standard in Bengaluru's Resale Market
In Bengaluru's resale apartment market, brokerage is typically 1% to 2% of the transaction value. Unlike some markets where convention dictates that only the seller pays, Bengaluru's resale market often involves two brokers — one representing the buyer and one the seller — each receiving a fee from their respective client.
When a buyer comes directly to an advisor like NR Estates without a separate seller-side broker, we typically charge both sides — but we are transparent about this from the beginning, and the fee is negotiated as part of the overall structure before serious work starts.
Why This Differs from Other Cities
In Delhi's resale market, the dominant convention has historically involved lower quoted brokerage with the expectation of negotiation after the fact. In Mumbai, co-broke arrangements between advisors are common but the fee structure differs. Buyers arriving from these markets sometimes expect a similar dynamic in Bengaluru — and are surprised when they discover that the fee conversation happens upfront rather than as a post-deal negotiation.
Neither approach is inherently right or wrong. The important thing is knowing which convention applies before you engage an advisor.
What Clarity Looks Like
Before we begin work on a requirement, we have a direct conversation about brokerage: what percentage we charge, whether it applies to one or both sides, and when it is payable. This is not a complicated conversation, but it is an important one — and it protects the buyer as much as it protects us.
A buyer who knows the fee structure from the beginning can factor it into their total budget calculation. A buyer who discovers the fee structure at the closing stage — after they have committed emotionally and financially to a transaction — has lost their negotiating leverage on every variable.
What to Ask Any Advisor
Before you engage any real estate advisor in Bengaluru for a resale purchase, ask: what is your brokerage percentage, who pays it, and is that confirmed before we start visiting properties? Any advisor who is doing genuine work will answer clearly. The answer itself matters less than the clarity of it.
We are transparent about our fees from day one. If you want to understand what working with NR Estates looks like before you commit to anything, talk to us.
