[bostonsre]

Why haven't commission percentages gone down over time? It seems like a massive margin that should be trimmed down by competition. I would think there would be more than enough room to under cut the standard rates, cover costs and still make a healthy profit. Is there a low supply of realtors that causes them to be in high demand and helps them keep up their commissions or something like that?

[nrmitchi]

The National Association of Realtors controls a huge percentage of real estate transactions, and works to make sure it doesn't drop, to the point where there are multiple open anti-trust lawsuits. For example: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-files-anti...

Basically, if you don't play the Realtor game and agree to pay those commissions, it's difficult to participate in the market at large.

[wombat-man]

Yeah I mean you're kinda paying to make everything go smoother and ideally their experience in the market will help prevent you from making an expensive mistake. As long as you have a good one, of course.

[bostonsre]

Ah, thanks.. that makes a lot more sense then. Hopefully the justice department stops that BS rent seeking crap.