If you haven't been paying close attention to the real estate industry, you may be unaware of the mounting scrutiny being placed on the decades-old commission model used by real estate agents across our nation. Just recently (October 31st, 2023), a Missouri jury found the National Association of Realtors (NAR), and two large nation-wide brokerages, guilty of colluding to maintain high brokerage commissions and liable for nearly $1.8 billion in damages.

I recently read through the latest post titled, "New Agents and Misinformation" by Chad Boge, the co-founder of FSBOHOMES. As a former real estate broker, I instinctively began to de-bunk and defend the real estate agent...After 40 years in the business, old habits are hard to break.  'That's not completely accurate' my inner voice screams. 'No Way! - that's not how I ran my offices when I was the managing broker.' My inner voice was assuring me as I read. I believe my agents always treated the 'for sale by owner' sellers with kindness and respect when prospecting for future listings. They understood and respected the sellers who were attempting to sell their home by owner and realized that there's a place in the real estate sandbox for a number of different models to succeed.

In every market where FSBOHOMES is established, we face unknowing agents quick to share "FSBO" statistics that are either misquoted, taken out of context, or in no way relate to the FSBOHOMES System. These agents can be placed in one of two categories.

"It's not personal; it's strictly business." A famous line from the epic, award-winning movie The Godfather, delivered by a very young Al Pacino. Unfortunately, when selling a home, most people don't look at it as a business transaction, which costs them a significant amount of money.

Many agents will often emphasize the necessity of being on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). The MLS was created 100 years ago to help homeowners market their homes for sale. Before the technological advances we have today, the MLS was the only way potential buyers could find homes for sale.

The average homeowner moves every 7-9 years. Every homeowner has a handful of agent friends and family members in their sphere of influence - siblings, in-laws, cousins, neighbors, or even a parent from your kid's soccer team. Each is hoping to be at the top of the list when it comes time for you to sell again.

How many weeks do you work each year to earn $10,000? Did you know you will pay that same $10,000 to a real estate agent for just a few hours of effort if you use the MLS to sell your home?

You got an offer! However, the buyer wants to get the best deal possible and assumes you might be overpriced, so they come in $20,000 below listing price. Ouch!

The MLS system held way more value prior to the Internet. Back then, if you can imagine this, the MLS was an actual book. It was printed in black and white and only showed one picture of the home. It was updated every two weeks as a tool for agents so they had access to the most accurate list of all the available homes for sale in their local market.

The existing broker/agent business model has been in place for over a century as the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) was originally founded as the National Association of Real Estate Exchanges back on May 12, 1908. The broker/agent model brought value to the industry for many decades, but today it's simply an old-economy business model that is broken and struggling to stay relevant. It's outdated, expensive, and no longer serves the consumer's best interest.

At one time, a real estate agent was the local expert with years of accumulated experience. They were the people you trusted to help sell your home and find a new one. They were a necessary piece of the puzzle in helping people transition from one home to another.

Buying a home is often the single biggest investment that a person makes over their lifetime. That being said, how likely is it for someone to buy a house they don't love? Inconceivable.