March 1st, 2011 
admin Selling a home with a traditional broker might cost you more than you think. According to a study by the National Bureau of Economic research, “How Much Value do Real Estate Agents Add“?, using a real estate agent could reduce the selling price of a typical home by 5.9 to 7.7%.
The study noted that a small number of companies now offer unbundled real estate services, know in the business as flat fee MLS or MLS entry only listing. This type of service was viewed in the report as beneficial to home sellers apart from the other services traditionally bundled together. The Federal Trade Commission observed in 2009, that “[t]he MLS is generally acknowledged to be a superior platform for matching home buyers and sellers”. In fact, the report notes, “the practice of bundling MLS listings with other real estate brokerage services handicaps homeowners who wish to sell their homes either completely independently (“for sale by owner” or FSBO transactions) or without the ancillary services of a listing broker.”
The idea that traditional brokerage services costing 6% help a home owner net more money from the sale of their property appears to be false. Further, the report concludes that “bundling may indeed compel many homeowners to purchase unwanted services (other than MLS listings) contrary to their interests.”
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