Meet the overlooked monopoly that’s overcharging homebuyers $72 billion a year
The other day, Linda, the real-estate agent whom my wife and I used to buy our home, called me out of the blue. It was the first anniversary of our closing. I had forgotten. She had not.
As she asked about my family and how we were liking the house, I remembered her salty, knowing, singsong voice. She'd been a comfort to us, offering advice during some tough moments when I was stressed out and wrangling with the sellers. I'm pretty sure there was a point when I had broken down in tears. She'd also kicked the tires on the asking price, abrasively noting — in front of the seller's agent — that the house lacked a doorbell, and that the first digit of the asking price, in the high six figures, needed to come down from a 9 to an 8. So she had worked hard for her end of the commission — $26,250, the full 3% that remains customary among agents, especially in major cities.
The way real-estate transactions are structured, I never saw that number until closing day. Both agents were paid out of the seller's account, which created the appearance that Linda's services didn't cost me anything. But of course, all of that money had been generated by our down payment, and by the mortgage we took out on the place.
