At which phase of the contract process is a real estate commission generally earned?

A real estate commission is typically earned at the phase of mutual consent, when both parties to the contract agree to the terms and conditions laid out in the agreement. This is the point where the seller and the buyer (or the client and the broker) have come to a meeting of the minds regarding the sale of the property.

When mutual consent is achieved, the broker has done their job by facilitating the agreement between buyer and seller, thus qualifying for a commission as part of their service in the transaction. It's important to realize that it’s not contingent upon the closing or the completion of the sale—while those are critical milestones, they are not what initiate the right to earn a commission.

In contrast to the other phases:

• Prior to signing, no agreement exists that would obligate the parties to a contract or entitle the broker to a commission.
• Completion of the sale pertains to the finalization of the contract, where the exchange of funds occurs, but the broker's commission is already deemed to have been earned at the moment of mutual consent, regardless of the eventual closing.
• At listing refers to the stage when the property is listed for sale, but earning a commission requires more than just a listing; it necessitates that an