What commission should be paid to a broker for a land sale?

Land is the most difficult type of real estate to sell and is the most time consuming for the listing agent. It involves zoning issues, project approval and many times up to one years worth of contingencies before closing the transaction. As such the listing period is usually one year, twice as long as the listing period for an established investment property. As it takes twice as much work and twice as long it would make sense for the commission to be twice as much, 12 percent. However the established commission for a land listing is 10 percent. The higher commission amount serves to also attract agents that don't typically work land listings to show them to clients, hoping to find the right developer. These days with building costs increasing and the real estate market slowing the agent will earn every penny if he finds a buyer to close on the land. Remember, the agent only gets paid if the transaction closes. Meaning the agent could not get paid anything for a years worth of work and loose their own money invested into marketing and paying a staff to work the listing.