I'm about to make a big move, and it is absurd that the only value the agents I'm talking to are (that a user on Reddit can't provide by telling me about the area) providing is the MLS they have access to.
The 6% commission, you would think, would be a price subject to market forces, but due to collusion among realtors, its locked in. Why anti-trust isn't investigating? Lobbying, that's why.
The commission is subject to market forces. There are a number of agents in my area (South Bay) that will accept a $5,000 flat fee.
A good agent really shines when you get into "unusual" situations, by providing you with good advice when the way is not clear. If you buy and sell houses a few times you will see some of these situations.
When I bought my house, I didn’t use an agent at all. Luckily I had rented in the area for about 5 years prior, so I already new the area pretty well.
When I began talking pricing on the house, the FIRST thing out of the realtors mouth was “Since you aren’t using an agent we can knock $x off the price of the house” that was before and negotiating had started, and before I made any offer.
And to even sweeten the deal more, the selling realtor was the owner of the house I ended up buying, so there was no commission for the seller to add into the price really. Needless to say, after negotiating we got the house much cheaper than equivalent houses were selling for.
its only _locked_ in if you sign a contract with a realtor (which can actually be negotiated, shop around). if you do a 'for sale by owner' you have no such obligation. even if the other party tries to use an agent. the agent will often 'ask' if you offer a 3% buyers commission, which is, totally up to you. even that is negotiable at that point. the downside is, they have less motivation for showing your house. but both times that i did, i hired a real estate lawyer to get the contracts and such, but handled the 'showing' and negotiations myself. in a hot market, a good agent can earn their % in patience and marketing.
I'm about to make a big move, and it is absurd that the only value the agents I'm talking to are (that a user on Reddit can't provide by telling me about the area) providing is the MLS they have access to.
The 6% commission, you would think, would be a price subject to market forces, but due to collusion among realtors, its locked in. Why anti-trust isn't investigating? Lobbying, that's why.