We have a piece of property that has a prelimanary plot of 30 home sites. what commission should we set.

seven percent

The Bigger question is, does it have any approvals in place. Raw Land 8 to 10 percent with approval 5% in this market. Raw land is a much more difficult sale as the buyer does not know what he will end up with. Most savvy developer will make offer contingent upon Approval wouldn’t you as buyer ? Price will be drive by number of lots approved and amount of Infrastructure cost, with developer having big......

James....
Dennis's previous answer to you was quite good. Keep in mind the more work you have to do on behalf of a client the higher the commission that can be charged. Also, the depth of the market dictates a commission amount. If you have a property that does not require a lot of commission push and there is a large body of cooperative agents that will contact you from a posted sign and listing on services such as LoopNet, you can charge a smaller commission. All commissions are negotiable between you and your client. In a raw land deal commissions paid can with the size property you are suggesting fall in a normal negotiating range from 4% (easier listing, less work for all) - to 10% (more work - more commission incentive required for all). Keep in mind the owner does not benefit and you are not able to go to the bank unless a deal is closed, so you should convince an owner to not let a good marketing driven incentive stand in the way of a good listing!
Good luck James..... Rob Baird, CA RE License #544165 (One of the oldest, active licenses in CA) 951 515-5855 Email: rob@capratecommercial.com