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Why does the listing agent make so much? Have they talked someone into selling their house? All the sellers I know looked up an agent to sell their house because they wanted something else. Selling is a regular market, only the lister is solicited.

My beef is the listing agent's commission. Please explain why the listing should make anything beyond a flat rate. Please explain why flat rates should not be used in real estate sales.

I'm a former commission only salesman and am now self-employed. Therefore, I believe the real pay should go to the person who makes something happen, not someone who passes along the buck. I was never paid a percentage. I was paid a varying commission set by the seller. Is there something wrong with that?

Why does the listing agent make so much? Have they talked someone into selling their house? All the sellers I know looked up an agent to sell their house because they wanted something else. Selling is a regular market, only the lister is solicited.

Because it's hard, which is why the majority of FSBOers can't sell- even when they put it on the MLS for cheap.Because it takes years of skill, resources, insurance, and out of pocket money to get get a contract at the limit of market value for a home. Because getting a home to close is a full time job.

Pricing is an art and a lot of experienced agents still struggle with it. In reality, the price of all markets is determined by how much the Realtors are asking for. They set the market. I was doing some work on a 1bedroom condo yesterday. Now this should be the easiest pricing around. I saved my client 10k by browbeating the other agent who was reaching too high. In another complex an agent I know picked up another 8k because he was confident of what that unit had to offer, unbeknownst to those just cruising the MSL.

That's one reason why I know agents will always be around, this isn't a science that you can't instruct a computer to do.

It may seem easy when homes sell in a day but even then every move is under legal scrutiny. Because it takes skill, resources, insurance, and money out of pocket which is always a risk. The listing agent can be held liable for anything on that property. It's the highest sued business in the nation.

An agent in my office listed a million dollar property and spent $4500 on advertising, only to have the owner unwilling to lower the price to an amount the market was coming close to asking for. This was on top of verbal abuse, calling her "stupid" because the home was not selling.

If you don't believe me, I'll say to everyone, try out real estate for a while and let me know when you start making tons of unearned money. Give it a shot. A lot of people seem to have it all figured out.