Real estate agents aren't the problem. My mom is a real estate agent and I've known a lot of real estate agents in my life. The absolute scum of the earth in th

Real estate agents aren't the problem. My mom is a real estate agent and I've known a lot of real estate agents in my life. The absolute scum of the earth in this industry are actually the members of the Board of Realtors that represent the individual agents across the country and rig everything like a cartel. It's a licensed procession with a lot of political influence nationwide, which gives them immense protection from market forces that would have drive the percentage they earn from sales down years ago. Any shitty experiences you've had with real estate agents are probably better explained by Hanlon's Razor. There are a few exceptional real estate agents, but my experience has been that real estate is a profession for those incompetent at everything else. When they say prices are going to keep going up and that it's a great investment, they usually actually believe that fully. They have bought whole hog into the idea that real estate is the best investment and that prices keep going up. You can't even work as an agent if you don't really believe that since that is the only condition in the market that is really in your interest as a broker since it's the condition where liquidity is highest, and liquidity is the best thing for brokers. If you don't harbor that believe you either stay out of the market/profession entirely or you enter the speculative side of the market, buying low and selling high. Those who can do, those who can't do anything, broker real estate. FWIW, this largely applies to residential real estate. In commercial real estate, the brokers are a lot more like the banksters promoting a kleptocracy.