What real use are real estate agents if we can sell our home ourselves?
In: Economics
Real estate agents used to be important back before the internet. When they listed a home for sale it went in a book and cataloged. It was quite the process. But now with the internet it has made it easier for buyers and sellers to see what the market is doing. Until recently, at least in my area, realtors were the only ones with access to sale prices. So the homeowner couldn’t see what a house sold for to judge what they could get for their house, they only had the neighborhood gossip. The real estate board fought tooth and nail to keep that information secret but the government forced them to provide that information to the public. A good realtor now a days has photographers, YouTube, and social media marketing to reach as many people as possible to see your home and home stagers to make your home look top notch.You can totally sell your own home privately if you’d like but some of the top agents have a large swath of influence online and more people can see your home increasing the likelyhood that you’ll get a better offer on your property. As for the contract (agreement of purchase and sale) and negotiations, the realtor always pushes what you want. It takes the stress of negotiation directly with a buyer off your plate. So they do add value to selling your home. Now in my area commissions are 4-5% of the sale price. I just sold my house, used a realtor and had to pay 56k after tax for their services. In my opinion they get paid way too much. My house sold in 5 days. And we told her what to do.
Source: was a realtor for 10+ years.
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