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I am not sure why realtors haven't become obsolete in hot markets at least on the sellers side. 5% is a lot of money when your home is so valuable. Plus it's su

I am not sure why realtors haven't become obsolete in hot markets at least on the sellers side. 5% is a lot of money when your home is so valuable. Plus it's such a sellers market, where it seems like all the marketing you might have to do is put a listing with a couple terrible grainy photos on zillow and you will get 10 all cash offers by the end of the week. You don't even really need to bother with mls anymore which was the old artificial moat for the real estate profession. Buying side might be a different case, but at least as a seller I don't think you need to bother with taking nice photos, staging, marketing, hosting open houses, etc anymore. Times have changed.

Carrok 2y ago
As someone who recently (this month) bought a house in a hot market, the market is no longer anything like what you are describing. It is not necessarily a buyers market again yet, but it is definitely no longer a sellers market. Things are sitting on the market for weeks. They get one offer, not cash, under asking, and they take it. Times have changed.
- uptown 2y ago
  Entirely regional. Houses near me are still under offer in days unless they have some critical flaw.
  - Carrok 2y ago
    Obviously these things are regional, but looking at it federally, there are more units listed now than there have been since before COVID. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/ACTLISCOUUS https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/ACTLISCOUUS
    - deleted 2y ago
      [deleted]
bequanna 2y ago
It isn’t exactly trivial to sell FSBO, but it isn’t that difficult either. It does take small amount of effort and research plus the time to show the property yourself.
gwbas1c 2y ago
When I bought and sold a house: As a first time buyer, the commission was totally worth it for such a major purchase. Yes, I could self-educate, but that leaves me open to beginner's mistakes. As a first time seller, the amount of work to get my house sold was INSANE, even though I was only there three years. Yes, I could do it myself, but I have better things to do, and in this case, beginner's mistakes could have implications if I violate a law I don't understand. It's the same reason why some people prefer to sell cars to a dealer instead of selling private market, or buying cars from a dealer instead of private market.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- ProfessorLayton 2y ago
  Agreed, but where this all falls apart is that it's a % fee rather than a fixed one for the services provided.
  - gwbas1c 2y ago
    I think if that was the case, the cost would go up. Realtors work very, very hard; and they aren't getting rich. If it was as easy as you think, no one in their right mind would pay the commission.
    - ProfessorLayton 2y ago
      I never said it was easy? Additionally the issue isn't paying for a service, but that people are paying the commission as a percent rather than a fixed fee. Lastly, lots of other professions are difficult, and people make them work without taking a percent cut of the transaction via collusion — which is now being challenged, and costs are expected to go down, not up [1]. [1] https://www.kqed.org/news/11980019/national-association-realtors-class-action-lawsuit-buy-sell-house-california-is-about-to-change-heres-how https://www.kqed.org/news/11980019/national-association-real...
- datavirtue 2y ago
brandonmenc 2y ago
I bought a house last year. Seller had no agent. They left at least 20% on the table because they: - Set the initial price so high that no one else looked at it (even though the price they set it at was probably slightly below market) - Further scared off buyers by dropping the price (people probably wondering what's wrong with the place) - Jumped on my offer without waiting for other bids (I would have gone much higher if I had found myself in a bidding war) - Thought they could sell to another buyer while we were under contract (who knows how much they had to pay the other buyer to walk away) All because they didn't have an agent telling them not to do any of this stuff. But hey, they didn't have to pay that 3% commission!
- datavirtue 2y ago
  This is shilling. Agents don't guarantee protection against any of that. They are even likely to silently conspire to hasten the sale by just keeping their mouth shut.
  - brandonmenc 2y ago
    Nothing is guaranteed, especially knowing exactly what to do when you sell your home when it’s been years since the last time you did it - if ever. I’m just telling you I witnessed firsthand someone screwing themselves by thinking they were smart enough to do it on their own. ymmv

Carrok 2y ago

As someone who recently (this month) bought a house in a hot market, the market is no longer anything like what you are describing. It is not necessarily a buyers market again yet, but it is definitely no longer a sellers market. Things are sitting on the market for weeks. They get one offer, not cash, under asking, and they take it. Times have changed.

uptown 2y ago
Entirely regional. Houses near me are still under offer in days unless they have some critical flaw.
- Carrok 2y ago
  Obviously these things are regional, but looking at it federally, there are more units listed now than there have been since before COVID. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/ACTLISCOUUS https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/ACTLISCOUUS
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]

bequanna 2y ago

It isn’t exactly trivial to sell FSBO, but it isn’t that difficult either. It does take small amount of effort and research plus the time to show the property yourself.

gwbas1c 2y ago

When I bought and sold a house: As a first time buyer, the commission was totally worth it for such a major purchase. Yes, I could self-educate, but that leaves me open to beginner's mistakes. As a first time seller, the amount of work to get my house sold was INSANE, even though I was only there three years. Yes, I could do it myself, but I have better things to do, and in this case, beginner's mistakes could have implications if I violate a law I don't understand. It's the same reason why some people prefer to sell cars to a dealer instead of selling private market, or buying cars from a dealer instead of private market.

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
ProfessorLayton 2y ago
Agreed, but where this all falls apart is that it's a % fee rather than a fixed one for the services provided.
- gwbas1c 2y ago
  I think if that was the case, the cost would go up. Realtors work very, very hard; and they aren't getting rich. If it was as easy as you think, no one in their right mind would pay the commission.
  - ProfessorLayton 2y ago
    I never said it was easy? Additionally the issue isn't paying for a service, but that people are paying the commission as a percent rather than a fixed fee. Lastly, lots of other professions are difficult, and people make them work without taking a percent cut of the transaction via collusion — which is now being challenged, and costs are expected to go down, not up [1]. [1] https://www.kqed.org/news/11980019/national-association-realtors-class-action-lawsuit-buy-sell-house-california-is-about-to-change-heres-how https://www.kqed.org/news/11980019/national-association-real...
datavirtue 2y ago

brandonmenc 2y ago

I bought a house last year. Seller had no agent. They left at least 20% on the table because they: - Set the initial price so high that no one else looked at it (even though the price they set it at was probably slightly below market) - Further scared off buyers by dropping the price (people probably wondering what's wrong with the place) - Jumped on my offer without waiting for other bids (I would have gone much higher if I had found myself in a bidding war) - Thought they could sell to another buyer while we were under contract (who knows how much they had to pay the other buyer to walk away) All because they didn't have an agent telling them not to do any of this stuff. But hey, they didn't have to pay that 3% commission!

datavirtue 2y ago
This is shilling. Agents don't guarantee protection against any of that. They are even likely to silently conspire to hasten the sale by just keeping their mouth shut.
- brandonmenc 2y ago
  Nothing is guaranteed, especially knowing exactly what to do when you sell your home when it’s been years since the last time you did it - if ever. I’m just telling you I witnessed firsthand someone screwing themselves by thinking they were smart enough to do it on their own. ymmv