Greg Schultheis

Sorry Carol, I'm still not convinced. The agents have always split the commissions, paid for advertising, held open houses, paid for auto expenses, etc. But Craigslist, Trulia, Zillow, etc. all offer free advertising. It takes less than an hour on each of these sites to put an ad up.

Yes, my material and labor costs have increased. But I am also the one taking ALL of the risk. The interest costs alone can eat into the small profit margin in a hurry. In many cases, I would LOVE to make 25% of that 6%!

You make my earlier point about agents being a "necessary evil" with your last comment. "There is less incentive to get a higher price if there is a flat fee." We as builders are held hostage knowing that if we don't pay the 6% commission, no one will show the house.

As a realtor, does it cost you twice as much to sell a $700,000 house as it does a $350,000 house? Do you work twice as long? Do you refuse to list the lower price house because you will only make half as much? It IS the same job no matter the price and should therefore be a flat fee.

I'm not trying to offend anyone, but just trying to understand the rationale. - Wed Nov 11 2009, 16:14