Stop Paying Realtors! They Are Over Paid!

[@jakes8091]

Given the rising cost of housing in general, yes, they are absolutely overpaid. Is the underlying work not the same regardless of home price? If it's the same then why should the price be a percentage? It would seem a more fair system for all if there were a fee for services type of agreement. It could be for accomplishing specific tasks, such as showings, doing specific research, or it could be a flat hourly rate. In any case, the buyer should bear the full cost of the agents time and work, regardless of whether it leads to a purchase. I think this would go a long ways towards leveling the playing field between the agent and buyer.

[@JeremyAKnight]

@@jakes8091 the problem is a fixed rate. Makes me go out of business. No flat fee brokerage has been able to stay in business. Redfin depends on ad money. Hourly would run the buyer or seller way more than they think it does. And, honestly would be a shock for both sides at closing.

[@Uwolz]

My agent didn’t do anything to find my house. It was to be build. He was never involved till closing. He got paid to sign his name on buyers agreement. No value added.

[@JeremyAKnight]

Did you interview them on what they do for new construction? Because, we do a LOT for our new construction clients!

[@alanalvarado2026]

Some are, some are not. I’m my real estate days, as a rookie, I renegotiated my clients new construction home two different times! Got them to drop the price by 35k, while only getting a 1.5% commission. As a rookie I had to go above and beyond for all my clients, not all rookie agents are a joke. Sadly, I needed insurance and stepped away, but thankful for all the knowledge I got.

[@JeremyAKnight]

It’s a brutal industry to get started in.

[@kallaharah5096]

I agree that some realtors are overpaid. However whenever we are real estate professionals begin to justify our pay based on our expenses, we lose. Our clients don’t care what it costs us to do business. They care what we are going to do for them. We have got to stop using the excuse “ mr client, you have no idea how many expenses I had to pay to get into this business and what my brokers split is and what taxes take away” that’s not thinking from the clients perspective.

[@jqx7743]

Compared with agents in other countries, yes. A buyer agent and a seller agent share 3% or less of the house price in total.

[@JeremyAKnight]

Other countries do things differently too.

[@stefanforest7582]

Great points. What makes it hard for realtors is that there are so many of them available, which is why the average is so low. I am considering getting a license for fun because I can do it. Will I use it to sell homes? No, but I will use the knowledge to buy my house with an experienced realtor. Maybe the realtor does not even know that I have a license. It just gives me a better feeling, and I love to learn new things. Although I am an IT guy, I love everything related to finance. Getting a license is affordable because I can use all the excellent tools, but it is more like a hobby. I assume many realtors are like this, or it is a second job, so the average salary is, of course, low. Maybe only the top 20% are the real full time realtors and if I want to buy a home, I only want to work with them. I need their real experience and that is why I am willing to pay for it.

[@JeremyAKnight]

The license won’t help you learn very much to be honest. The license is how not to get sued.

[@stefanforest7582]

@@JeremyAKnight Maybe, but I will learn more than the course or exam content. The exam is just for the paper, but I am not really interested in that. It is more of a motivational exercise. Becoming a realtor is much easier than becoming a financial advisor. I would prefer that, but becoming a CFP/CFA is complicated due to the requirements for experience.

[@JeremyAKnight]

@@stefanforest7582 I can’t say I learned much from getting my license. I learned more from being around people and asking questions.

[@stefanforest7582]

@@JeremyAKnight Hmm, okay. Good to know, thank you.

[@rockingredpoppy9119]

Purchase appraisals are different than Refinance appraisals - on a Purchase the appraisers only states whether the home is worth the purchase price, it will never come back over the purchase price unlike a refinance appraisal - that's the rules where I've been, and I worked in the real estate industry over 25 years. You can't say a real estate agent only makes $54,000 a year, how many houses was that? One, two or ten? Averaged over a year, how many hours were put in per day? And the suggestion from any agent to a buyer is - just ask for a credit, the seller isn't a bank.

[@JeremyAKnight]

The average realtor does only make that much.

[@rockingredpoppy9119]

@@JeremyAKnight my point is, it doesn't matter how much an agent makes a year, it's how much they make per transaction. If they make $54K a year and only sell 2 houses, then that's great money.

[@JeremyAKnight]

@@rockingredpoppy9119 but if they only sell 2 homes. They aren’t a very good agent and potentially overpaid. That was the point.

[@rockingredpoppy9119]

@@JeremyAKnight That was also my point.

[@JeremyAKnight]

@@rockingredpoppy9119 but they are not selling $1mil homes. To make $54k you probably need to sell 5 houses a year. That’s a lot more work.

[@dwreinard]

Is the average salary including all the part time agents? I wonder what it is for full time agents. It would be interesting to hear the flip side. Interview individuals at random what their experience was with their agents.

[@JeremyAKnight]

Good idea.

[@momentumswing6998]

Like anything else the harder you work the better off you will be. Just do what you love and the rest will come naturally. PS were you at PBD watch party last night? There was a guy sitting in front row looks exactly like you. kzbin.infoaan-e0xjYRc?si=PoSVMyf_KNjYnUh7

[@JeremyAKnight]

That was me.

[@momentumswing6998]

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