[ottocoder]

Great idea, I hope you do well!

One observation from a novice homebuyer (only bought once, never sold) is that I thought commissions only came out of seller's proceeds (of course price is marked up accordingly). The website says "buy a home commission free" but to me I would pay more notice if it said "sell a home commission free".

Of course if I'm wrong please take this as a data point that users need education :)

[harmmonica]

You're totally right that the commission does come from the seller's proceeds, but since openlistings acts as a buyer's agent, they, traditionally, get half the commission once the deal closes. 500k sale price (yes, they exist outside the coasts!), 5% commission = 25,000. 25,000 split between the seller and buying agent = 12,500 per agent. Openlistings (I think) keeps 5,000 of the 12,500 and kicks the other 7,500 back to the buyer... and if you had to include that additional 7,500 as part of a 30-year mortgage they're saving you much more than 7,500 over the life of a traditionally-financed purchase. That said, you're also right that people need education on these things! The agents win (and consumers lose) if the transaction seems complex. Somehow need to make people realize the process is pretty straightforward.

[rgbrgb]

You're right that it takes some education. Perhaps we should phrase it as money back rather than a lower fee.

The messed up thing about the percentage commission is that it provides financial incentive for the broker representing you to convince you to offer a higher price, both so that you close and so that the commission is higher.