[s1artibartfast]

I dont think that helps me understand it at all. That still doesn't explain why landlords give up that value. Why let a 3rd party make 10k off renters when you could pay some maintenance man $20/hr and keep the difference. If lazy and disinterested landlords are the answer, why are landlords less lazy in every other high demand city?

The question of if the marginal broker can or cant live off of 10k per transaction is entirely sperate. my guess is that there is some city regulatory barriers to entry here, but I haven't looked into it.

[sixo]

Yeah, fair, it doesn't add up. The landlord gets a potentially-large boost to marketability by offering a lower nominal rent... But so what? Is it just that that sets a lower competitive equilibrium? Idk.