Sorry, but I didn’t get anything about them conspiring to set housing prices. The article that link pointed to was about fees for service and competition amongst brokers.

I’m with Bugs on this one….Where does it say anything about the “cartel” setting house prices? The article is talking about commissions…..I have no problem with the way the system operates. Remember…as a seller you are free to negotiate your commission with any agent before the listing agreement is signed. If you don’t like the commission rate…find another agent who will work for “your price”. Buyers don’t pay the agent anything anyway…(Yes, you could say every buyer’s agent’s commission is built into the sales price). If the buyers want a rebate on the commission then make that arrangement before working with an agent.

Why do they constantly argue that Realtors are always getting 6% when even their own article mentioned that commissions on average were around 5.1% in 2003? The more agents and discount offices…the more pressure on commissions. (As the market slows…and non-productive agents are forced to quit…maybe this rate will actually start increasing).

You really should not blame an agent if people are willing to pay him/her price for their services. Good agents make top dollar because they can show their clients why they charge what they do….Again, no one is holding a gun to anyone’s head to force them to pay a full commission…If you don’t like it find a different agent.

It’s understandable for the large companies to protect their interests…Who can blame them. Problems arise when one party in a transaction is represented by a discounter..or maybe someone who just put the property in the MLS for a fee…The agent on the other side of the transaction (from the larger company) now has to do most of the work for the other party (in addition to his client) to get the deal to properly close escrow..

I don’t think there are too many companies that specifically tell their agents not to show properties from certain companies. It may be a cool thing to say while standing around the water cooler…But most agents are so desperate for a deal and a paycheck that they would not do this. (Especially with consumers doing so much homework themselves on the internet).

On the topic of the internet… Powayseller..the link above has another link to an article you referenced many months ago..The one I was talking the other day:

http://money.cnn.com/2006/04/10/real_estate/buyers_target_commissions/index.htm .

It talks about how 77% of buyers START THEIR SEARCH by looking at homes on the internet. You linked the same article a long time ago and from that time had been incorrectly saying that 80% of buyers FIND their home on the internet. (I’m not trying to fight with you…just straightening out this topic…I enjoy your posts).

Farls

I think it will happen. Market forces demand it, and, for all their political influence, Realtors won’t be able to stop the trend. I think it’s only a question of how long they can delay it.

Actually, IMO, forking over $6k to a couple of agents on a $100k transaction would bug me just as much. Commissions ought to be about 1% to cover putting up a sign, MLS entry, and filling in the standard purchase agreement and disclousures. Heck, the escrow/title company (which also gets paid) seems to do most of the work. Maybe if a particular seller wants color pics in the sunday paper he could sign up for more, but 5-6% as the “standard” is ridiculous at all price levels. I suspect that outfits like zip and buyside, along with the internet, will be wal-martizing the industry sooner rather than later.