Last Wednesday the citizens of the United States became a lot better off. I was surprised that no one publicly popped open a bottle of champagne to celebrate. This is not some small thing, it is exciting news. The Department of Justice, Anti-Trust Division launched a website that is going to make the world a better place. The nice lawyers who worked on the research for the site and wrote the copy spent considerable time compiling the information.
This is my favorite page on the site. I liked it a lot because the page it linked from had this quote:
“Brokers typically charge a commission based on a percentage of the home’s sale price. Over the past decade the average commission rate has remained relatively steady between 5.0 and 5.5 percent. As a result, the actual median commission paid by consumers rose sharply along with the run-up in home prices.
Unless broker costs were also rising sharply during this period of time, competition among brokers should have held commissions in check even as home prices were rising.”
The word, “costs” was bold on their site, as well. Unless broker costs also went up (where the brokers could actually prove they had to spend more) competition SHOULD have held commissions in check. My costs have gone up in the past nine years. Way up. My acquistion cost per listing and my costs to service each listing has gone up, as well. What they may be shooting for is the correct amount of profit a Realtor should be making. I wonder if they plan to subsidize those agents and companies who can prove they are making less (like Foxtons)?
I’ve included a link here for any stray DOJ lawyers reading this post to help them. There are many calculator sites on the internet, I choose this one because it came up first when I did a Google search for “consumer price index calculator”. Try it. Type in 1998 = $1.00 and then put 2007 in the year you want to check. I got $1.26. I think you will too.
If you are a Realtor going to a grocery store or a Read more
company poses to Realtors. It might be good to note that there is NO company, proposal, idea or random thought ever, that attacks Realtors, that is too irrelevant for Inman to not select as “feature news”. It’s all good. I love the quote from some not-quite-bright dimwit, “brokers, Realtors and agents that exist today are being re-purposed for tomorrow. Stand by for the real estate market shakeup.”
On the off chance that you did not receive an email from Best Image Marketing, I am giving a “webinar” on Wednesday morning (9 AM PT). Anyone can listen in, if they care to. 
