What real use are real estate agents if we can sell our home ourselves?
In: Economics
What’s the purpose of an accountant when you can file your taxes yourself? What the point of a hair stylist when you can cut your hair yourself?
It’s about using somebody’s expertise to do something easier, with better results. Selling a home is something most people do only a couple times in their whole life. They don’t have the expertise to make house look its best for photos (decluttering, depersonalizing, staging) and taking those photos, know how to determine an appropriate price and evaluate offers, know all the legal/contract issues to make sure are explicitly agreed upon to prevent issues. Agents also know how to effectively write and publish the listing to the MLS and other places to advertise (newspapers, postcards, window of real estate office, etc). They also make themselves available to do showings.
These are all services that somebody who does this day in, day out can do much more effectively than somebody who has never done it before. Better photos can draw more attention. Recommending that the home be painted a neutral grey vs. it’s current yellow might increase the value. Knowing what the home’s actually worth, to best set pricing and determine whether offers should be accepted, can help insure that you don’t leave money on the table or sit on the market forever.
The bigger question is whether the current fee structure — 5-6% of the sale price, split between the two agents (and then further split between agent and brokerage) is in line with the value of the service provided, especially as home prices climb. How much more work goes into selling a $700k house than a $350k house? How different is it to sell a house in a low cost of living area vs. high cost of living area? The real estate agent provides valuable services, but should the agent selling the 2500 sq. ft. home in Silicon Valley make 4x what the agent selling the identical home in Oklahoma City makes?
Latest Answers