Comfree is huge out here and with houses “selling themselves”, not having an agent is like trading 50 hours of work for saving 10k. Of course, as always, there are two things going on here.

1. Agents are having a rough time b/c private sales are easier
2. Companies like Comfree and Zillow are removing layers of complexity (thanks to the wonders of the information age), which makes it easier for the DIY crowd to participate.

So what’s an agent worth? I think the big deal is “what does an agent bring to the table”? It used to be that the agent had all of the specialized knowledge on “navigating the sales of a home”, but now we have this knowledge too (thanks Comfree and Zillow). The agent used to have exclusive legal and financial connections for completing sales, but now these are readily available as well.

So the agent has two roles:
1. When Buying: the agent must narrow down your search or make it easier. If you’re paying a buyer’s fee, they should be combing the listings and giving you notes on the properties they’ve visited on your behalf. They should basically be short-listing homes that you’ll want to look at it.

2. When Selling: the agent is responsible for getting you the best price possible and reducing the overhead on your time for the sale. This means coordination with your mortgage lender of choice (or with a mortgage broker if you trust them) and any legal bodies involved. If somebody wants to bring in an engineer to check the foundation or asses the place, they can coordinate this with your realtor. If you’re paying the realtor 15 - 20k for something as simple as selling your home you’re effectively giving them like 2-4 months of your own gross income (for most people). If they put in 160 hours (4 full weeks) selling your house, that’s still like billing $100/hour. That’s like the price for a consulting professional engineer! So they should be able and willing to put in that much time or they’re just charging you too much.

Unfortunately I have a husband who pushes very hard about wanting a Realtor.

I actually have no problem paying a finders fee or the selling agents commission, but the listing agent truly does very little.

And, here’s a tip in a tight need-to-sell-market, put a small ad in a local paper. 100 Realtors will call. Set up an appointment with all of them at the same time and have good printed material on your home available. Some of these Realtors are simply going to walk. The rest you offer the regular selling commission plus a bonus. The tighter the market, the bigger the bonus.

Seriously, when you need to sell, and the market is tough, your number one priority needs to be to exit, not worry about the fees. I’ve known people who have refused a first offer in a tight market for not meeting their expectations and had their home sit fallow for the next 18 months and ultimately sell it for less than the original offer…

Put emotions and personal attachments aside and assess the market you are dealing with, and your personal needs.

I won’t rehash the different arguments but there are some good cases made for both sides.