A few choice quotes from this weekend’s WSJ article on “Realtors Face an Antitrust Reckoning”
“The Realtors require this offer if a seller wants the home listed on an affiliated multiple-listing service, which is a database of homes for sale that serves the same purpose as a stock exchange. While innovation and competition have slashed stockbroker commissions, the commission on home sales has stayed basically flat for decades at 6%, split evenly between the buyer and seller agents.”
The Editorial Board, Wall Street Journal
Buying a home is not like buying an airline ticket, movie ticket, toilet paper or a stock. It’s a decision that doesn’t happen often, emotional and can be the largest financial decision in their lives. For those reasons it makes sense for someone to hire a trusted advisor.
“The Realtors also claim their rules benefit consumers by giving them “access to the largest database of properties available” and reducing out-of-pocket costs. But commissions get baked into home prices. If not for the Realtors’ rule, many buyers wouldn’t use brokers or would negotiate lower commissions. Home prices would likely fall.”
The Editorial Board, Wall Street Journal
“Many buyers wouldn’t use brokers”? See above comment.
I could go on and on, but WTAF?
This was not a WSJ article. In other words, it was not written by a staff writer at WSJ. Two observation after I read it last night:
1. It seems fact checking and journalistic investigation doesn’t apply to OpEds.
2. This OpEd and the comments by readers, confirms how little consumers know about real estate and real estate agents. And all these HGTV shows aren’t helping.
WSJ – New York City. I’ll bet you a $million that writer has never even tried to buy a home.