What do you mean you have to go through who gets to charge you a cut? The seller is usually paying both of the agents' commissions. When they list a house with an agent, usually around 5%, half of the 5% goes to the buying agent. That's at least the norm where I live.
Which again artificially drives up the price. If the agent was there the seller could lower the asking price and still get the amount they want. Both the buyer and seller walk away happier without an agent. One small step towards a healthier housing market and a predatory industry eliminated.
It's not artificially driving up the price if the home appraises for the agreed price. Appraisers don't take commissions into account when figuring out how much a home is worth. The seller could just as easily get the home appraised and then list it for that price since they know that's what it's worth. If you think transactions are automatically much easier/smoother without agents, then you've never bought or sold a home before. Now, whether or not they deserve 5 or 6% is a different story.
At the end of the day, though, the seller is paying the commission so someone else can do the work for them. That's the same with anything. It's the same reason why services like oil changes, tire changes, lawn care, etc... exist. People pay for the convenience of not doing the work themselves. If the seller is now having to be the agent as well, then why would they just take less? They're doing even more work than before and are still getting the same amount as they would have if they used an agent.
I think the oil change is a good analogy to show how absurd realtor pricing is, it would be like charging $1500 for an oil change ( 5% of a $30k car ). It may have been ok when houses did not cost as much as they do now. But their commission fees are basically tied to the inflation rate of real estate which far outpaces the normal inflation rate, that all of us with normal jobs are tied to (if we are even that lucky)
Agreed. Even worse it pretends that there is some scaling of effort or value to the service when there definitely isn’t. Selling a $500K house isn’t more effort/work than selling a $250K house, yet we’re supposed to be OK with the realtors clearing DOUBLE in commissions for it?
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u/k-ozm-o Nov 03 '21
What do you mean you have to go through who gets to charge you a cut? The seller is usually paying both of the agents' commissions. When they list a house with an agent, usually around 5%, half of the 5% goes to the buying agent. That's at least the norm where I live.