[njtosd]

[quote=drboom]

. . . In the legal field, lawyers are granted the power to vet their own membership by the state. That’s a monopoly. Same thing goes for the practice of medicine.

. . .
[/quote]

I guess I see your reasoning, but would that make the practice of driving a monopoly, too? Since the state requires that drivers pass tests administered by other drivers . . . It’s all a matter of how you define something, I suppose. IMHO, a monopoly eliminates competition and allows the monopolizing entity to decide the price of the monopolized goods or services. There is a large variation in the fees of the professional services that you mention here, so I would disagree with the breadth of your definition.

[njtosd]

[quote=drboom]

. . . In the legal field, lawyers are granted the power to vet their own membership by the state. That’s a monopoly. Same thing goes for the practice of medicine.

. . .
[/quote]

I guess I see your reasoning, but would that make the practice of driving a monopoly, too? Since the state requires that drivers pass tests administered by other drivers . . . It’s all a matter of how you define something, I suppose. IMHO, a monopoly eliminates competition and allows the monopolizing entity to decide the price of the monopolized goods or services. There is a large variation in the fees of the professional services that you mention here, so I would disagree with the breadth of your definition.

[njtosd]

With respect to my posts, your comparison is off the mark. My argument has never been that a single agent representing both buyer and seller is better or worse than each having their own. The data that I would be interested in (let’s say for 92130) is a comparison of sales where agents were involved on both sides to those where one or both parties were represented by an attorney or represented themselves. My guess is that it’s a hard comparison to make, because most of the time agents are involved on both sides.

[njtosd]

With respect to my posts, your comparison is off the mark. My argument has never been that a single agent representing both buyer and seller is better or worse than each having their own. The data that I would be interested in (let’s say for 92130) is a comparison of sales where agents were involved on both sides to those where one or both parties were represented by an attorney or represented themselves. My guess is that it’s a hard comparison to make, because most of the time agents are involved on both sides.

[njtosd]

With respect to my posts, your comparison is off the mark. My argument has never been that a single agent representing both buyer and seller is better or worse than each having their own. The data that I would be interested in (let’s say for 92130) is a comparison of sales where agents were involved on both sides to those where one or both parties were represented by an attorney or represented themselves. My guess is that it’s a hard comparison to make, because most of the time agents are involved on both sides.

[njtosd]

With respect to my posts, your comparison is off the mark. My argument has never been that a single agent representing both buyer and seller is better or worse than each having their own. The data that I would be interested in (let’s say for 92130) is a comparison of sales where agents were involved on both sides to those where one or both parties were represented by an attorney or represented themselves. My guess is that it’s a hard comparison to make, because most of the time agents are involved on both sides.

[njtosd]

With respect to my posts, your comparison is off the mark. My argument has never been that a single agent representing both buyer and seller is better or worse than each having their own. The data that I would be interested in (let’s say for 92130) is a comparison of sales where agents were involved on both sides to those where one or both parties were represented by an attorney or represented themselves. My guess is that it’s a hard comparison to make, because most of the time agents are involved on both sides.

[njtosd]

[quote=urbanrealtor]. . . That is a bit like saying that you will be the one dude in your cellblock not to get raped or the one freshman who gets a hot female roommate.

[/quote]

I never thought that in the course of a two related threads I would find two real estate professionals resorting to rape analogies. Is there a reason for this? There are a lot of other analogies out there from which to choose. Maybe urbanrealtor could give us some statistics on the likelihood that this coincidence is random.

Also, I’m not so sure that “a pair” is so terribly necessary to answering your questions. As for me, I haven’t claimed to have purchased without an agent, although I am considering it with respect to our next home purchase.

[njtosd]

[quote=urbanrealtor]. . . That is a bit like saying that you will be the one dude in your cellblock not to get raped or the one freshman who gets a hot female roommate.

[/quote]

I never thought that in the course of a two related threads I would find two real estate professionals resorting to rape analogies. Is there a reason for this? There are a lot of other analogies out there from which to choose. Maybe urbanrealtor could give us some statistics on the likelihood that this coincidence is random.

Also, I’m not so sure that “a pair” is so terribly necessary to answering your questions. As for me, I haven’t claimed to have purchased without an agent, although I am considering it with respect to our next home purchase.

[njtosd]

[quote=urbanrealtor]. . . That is a bit like saying that you will be the one dude in your cellblock not to get raped or the one freshman who gets a hot female roommate.

[/quote]

I never thought that in the course of a two related threads I would find two real estate professionals resorting to rape analogies. Is there a reason for this? There are a lot of other analogies out there from which to choose. Maybe urbanrealtor could give us some statistics on the likelihood that this coincidence is random.

Also, I’m not so sure that “a pair” is so terribly necessary to answering your questions. As for me, I haven’t claimed to have purchased without an agent, although I am considering it with respect to our next home purchase.

[njtosd]

[quote=urbanrealtor]. . . That is a bit like saying that you will be the one dude in your cellblock not to get raped or the one freshman who gets a hot female roommate.

[/quote]

I never thought that in the course of a two related threads I would find two real estate professionals resorting to rape analogies. Is there a reason for this? There are a lot of other analogies out there from which to choose. Maybe urbanrealtor could give us some statistics on the likelihood that this coincidence is random.

Also, I’m not so sure that “a pair” is so terribly necessary to answering your questions. As for me, I haven’t claimed to have purchased without an agent, although I am considering it with respect to our next home purchase.

[njtosd]

[quote=urbanrealtor]. . . That is a bit like saying that you will be the one dude in your cellblock not to get raped or the one freshman who gets a hot female roommate.

[/quote]

I never thought that in the course of a two related threads I would find two real estate professionals resorting to rape analogies. Is there a reason for this? There are a lot of other analogies out there from which to choose. Maybe urbanrealtor could give us some statistics on the likelihood that this coincidence is random.

Also, I’m not so sure that “a pair” is so terribly necessary to answering your questions. As for me, I haven’t claimed to have purchased without an agent, although I am considering it with respect to our next home purchase.

[njtosd]

[quote=drboom]. . . It’s set up by and for lawyers, of course, so there again we have a monopoly tax. . . [/quote]

Technically, things like real estate, law, medicine, etc. are not monopolies. In a true monopoly, it is impossible to enter the monopolized area. On the other hand, these professions do have high barriers to entry. The question that you have to ask yourself is which is the better deal – doing whatever is necessary to overcome those barriers in order to enter the profession (as bearishgurl described), or paying for the services of someone else who has overcome the barriers. It’s very dependent on what you want to do in life and in business.

[njtosd]

[quote=drboom]. . . It’s set up by and for lawyers, of course, so there again we have a monopoly tax. . . [/quote]

Technically, things like real estate, law, medicine, etc. are not monopolies. In a true monopoly, it is impossible to enter the monopolized area. On the other hand, these professions do have high barriers to entry. The question that you have to ask yourself is which is the better deal – doing whatever is necessary to overcome those barriers in order to enter the profession (as bearishgurl described), or paying for the services of someone else who has overcome the barriers. It’s very dependent on what you want to do in life and in business.

[njtosd]

[quote=drboom]. . . It’s set up by and for lawyers, of course, so there again we have a monopoly tax. . . [/quote]

Technically, things like real estate, law, medicine, etc. are not monopolies. In a true monopoly, it is impossible to enter the monopolized area. On the other hand, these professions do have high barriers to entry. The question that you have to ask yourself is which is the better deal – doing whatever is necessary to overcome those barriers in order to enter the profession (as bearishgurl described), or paying for the services of someone else who has overcome the barriers. It’s very dependent on what you want to do in life and in business.

[Author]

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