Real estate commissions are negotiable -- if you ask

Real estate consumers who choose to negotiate commission rates charged by agents are mostly successful in lowering the amount they pay -- and customer satisfaction does not appear to be related to cost.

That's according to a survey released Monday by Consumer Reports, based on responses to an annual questionnaire of 3,753 readers who sold or tried to sell a home, 4,029 who bought one, and 7,368 who both bought and sold a home in the past few years.

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