My wife and I recently sold a condo in Hamilton and we had an excellent selling agent. The condo was on the market for about a month and she arranged many viewing and had a well written description on her website. We sold for asking.

But, upon completion of the sale when her fees were due, she suggested that we include at least a 5% tip on her commission, and that it's common practice in the industry. We agreed at the time, but the next day it dawned on us that that was over $1,500. We're also a little confused because we never felt compelled to tip our buying agent when we were buying the condo or our next home.

Is this really common practice? How much have you tipped your real estate agents in the past?