[Jailbird]

I've wondered the same thing at times. I eventually came to the conclusion that there are intangible things that society values and must create (concoct) laws to protect the ones that are much too easily subvert or bypassed in ways that effectively remove the valued thing from society.

I'm not sure it's the best analogy, but I considered the protections given to real estate agents as something similar. Why can't people just go negotiate directly with the sellers? I won't go into all the obvious details but there's real work back there, just as with art, and the end result isn't protected very well on its own, hence the need for laws, even silly sounding laws.

[pessimizer]

As someone who was once paid to research the history of the NAR for the NAR, the answer is lots and lots of lobbying.

[Jailbird]

That seems plausible too, and also lines up with what's happened to copyrights in the US...I can't speak much to real estate, but I'd say copyright went way overboard.

[lotsofpulp]

> Why can't people just go negotiate directly with the sellers?

They can, unless the seller enters into an exclusive contract with a real estate agent.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_sale_by_owner

[Jailbird]

True - I meant the unethical-but-mechanically-possible act of having someone show you the place, then being a jerk and contacting the seller directly.

edit: to be clear, I don't condone that at all, I just mean that's what I considered in thoughts about why we need laws that cover such things.