[jdpedrie]

> But was it worth $12k for less than 40 hours of total work? I don't think so.

First, I agree that the fees charged are exorbitant. However, for many smaller realtors, they may not have much inventory at any given time. So, just like a freelance programmer, the buyer is paying for their work and for their downtime between jobs.

[ska]

Isn't this a bit circular though? If the fees are high enough, it allows for an oversupply of realtors ... which only gets worse in a rising market because fees are % based and entry-to-market (for a realtor) is fairly easy. NB: easy to enter doesn't mean easy to succeed, which is borne out by the longevity statistics, I believe.

[Mindless2112]

Sure, but a real estate agent who has a "seller" client has a pretty easy time finding "buyer" clients -- run an open house on a property you're selling and prospective buyers (specifically the ones that decide they don't want to buy the property being shown) come to you without even knowing that you exist.

[atwebb]

Really, really depends on the specific house.