Time to take a wrecking ball to realtors’ fees in America
A court case is a first step to ending a racket
DEATH, TAXES and extortionate realtors’ fees: for decades these have been the three grim certainties of American life, and one of them is avoidable. Every time a home changes hands, realtors (known as estate agents in Britain) charge a staggering 5-6% of its value, two or three times more than they can get away with in any other rich country. As the internet has allowed would-be buyers to browse properties from a sofa, agents’ fees have tumbled elsewhere—but not in America, where they have been set in concrete for nearly a century. Why?
Explore more
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “The great realtor racket”
From the November 11th 2023 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Leaders
How to improve clinical trials
Involving more participants can lead to new medical insights
Houthi Inc: the pirates who weaponised globalisation
Their Red Sea protection racket is a disturbing glimpse into an anarchic world
Donald Trump will upend 80 years of American foreign policy
A superpower’s approach to the world is about to be turned on its head
Rising bond yields should spur governments to go for growth
The bond sell-off may partly reflect America’s productivity boom
Much of the damage from the LA fires could have been averted
The lesson of the tragedy is that better incentives will keep people safe
Health warnings about alcohol give only half the story
Enjoyment matters as well as risk