[jmb99]

> I find it ironic that on a technology forum people are so quick to jump to “agents aren’t worth it” with so many people think the same thing about software developers and/or their quotes for building software.

This isn't exactly an honest comparison. The vast majority of software engineers do not make a percentage of the earnings of the product they're developing. If I work for a company making 150k/year, I don't suddenly start making 300k/year if the company sells my software for twice as much. Likewise, I can't charge twice as much for consulting just because the company I'm consulting for makes twice as much money.

An agent makes a commission based only on the value of the house, which incentivizes them to sell more expensive houses. When I purchased my house, I did most of the work (found the house, hired a home inspector, found my own mortgage, used my own lawyer) - the agent existed because it was basically required, and made 11k for roughly 15 hours of work. If I was wealthier, and could have afforded a more expensive house, they could have made 20k for 15 hours of work. In both cases, they did the exact same amount of work (minimal); why did they make more in the second scenario?

Now that I know how the system works, I will be avoiding agents if at all possible when I sell my current house and buy my next. They're about as useful as used car salesmen, but somehow have convinced the entire continent that the housing market will fall apart without them.