There are a lot of things in the world that piss me off and this is one of them. Outrageous housing costs.
The cost of housing for people who weren't already fortunate enough to buy when housing was cheaper is out of reach for most people today.
You want to know one of the reasons why? Commissions paid to real estate agents.
Here's why. They generally get a commission of around ±5% of the sale price. This is the same percentage regardless of the final sale price of the house.
For example, they get a 5% commission if the house sells for $200,000 or if the house sells for $400,000. From an agent's standpoint, this encourages them to sell the house for as much as they can, because they get more money that way.
In addition, and this is what I think really is the problem, the actual work that an agent does to sell a $200,000 house versus a $400,000 house, or even a $1 million house, is exactly the same!!! They list the house, they show it to potential buyers, they help handle the necessary paperwork, etc. None of that changes if the price of the house is different. The work they do is exactly the same!!!
So, why is this? Why isn't there a law that sets a fixed fee or rate for agents per house? I mean, getting licensed to be a real estate agent isn't rocket science. You don't need to be a genius to learn to do that.
For example, suppose we set a base fee of $10,000 per house. (That would be equivalent to 5% of a $200,000 sales price.) Suppose an agent sells 1 house per month. That's 12 x $10,000 = $120,000. If the agent sells 2 houses a month, that's $240,000. You telling me an agent can't live on that?
Do you disagree with me? Do you have any other suggestions, maybe an hourly rate like a plumber or an electrician or a lawyer (although that might get outrageous too!).
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