Are Realtors Worth the Commission? My Honest Response to Freakonomics

I want to talk about something a lot of people think about but most realtors would rather avoid. Are real estate agents actually worth the commission?

Before you assume this is going to be me defending every agent and saying “of course we’re worth it,” that’s not where I’m going. Because I’ll be honest: I don’t think every agent is worth the commission. Having a license doesn’t automatically mean you deserve a big fee. Putting a sign in the yard, uploading a listing, opening a door, and sending a few texts is not the same as creating real value.

So if you’ve ever wondered what you’re actually paying for, that’s a fair question. It’s a great question. And agents shouldn’t be afraid to answer it.

Where This Question Started for Me

This goes back to high school. I took an elective economics class, and we read Freakonomics. At the time I had no idea I’d become a realtor, or that I’d one day be talking about commissions, negotiations, pricing strategy, and all the behind-the-scenes parts of this job. But one section of that book talked about real estate agents, and it stayed with me.

The book was really about incentives. The idea was this: say a seller could net another $10,000 by waiting longer, negotiating harder, or not jumping at the first decent offer. That $10,000 matters enormously to the seller. It could be their next down payment, repairs, reserves, debt payoff, or just breathing room for their family. But for the agent, the commission on that extra $10,000 is small. So the uncomfortable question becomes: is the agent really motivated to fight for every dollar, or are they more motivated to close fast and move on?

That’s a tough question. It’s also a fair one. And I like it, because it forces realtors to look in the mirror.

The Incentive Problem Is Real

If we’re being honest, that incentive gap does exist:

• There are agents who care more about closing the deal than protecting the client
• There are agents who push people toward the easiest path because it benefits them
• There are agents who say whatever it takes to win the listing
• There are agents who overprice a home to get the appointment, then chase reductions later after momentum is gone
• There are agents who tell a buyer to go in stronger, waive more, or move faster than they should, just to get it done

That’s real. I’m not going to pretend it doesn’t happen.

But here’s where the conversation gets deeper. The question isn’t “are all realtors worth it?” They’re not. The better question is: what kind of agent are you hiring? There’s a massive difference between an agent who wants a transaction and one who wants to protect the relationship. Between someone chasing a commission and someone thinking long term. Between someone who wants to close the deal and someone who wants you to make the right decision.

Exposure Is Not Marketing

Most people only see the visible part of the job. The sign. The lockbox. The photos. The MLS. The open house. The closing. I understand why someone looks at that and thinks, “That’s what I’m paying for?”

But when the job is done right, the real work starts well before the home hits the market. When I take a listing, I’m not throwing it online and hoping the market saves me. That’s exposure, not marketing. Exposure means people can see it. Marketing means you’re shaping how they see it. It means knowing who the buyer is, understanding what matters about the home, anticipating objections, and positioning the property to create attention before momentum dies.

That’s why I believe in having at least 30 days of marketing ready around a listing. Not because every home needs 30 days to sell, but because I’d rather prepare for the real scenario than the perfect one. If a home sells in the first week, great. If it doesn’t, we’re not scrambling. The content, the paid ads, the follow-up plan, the launch strategy are already in place.

I had a listing in Willow Grove that went under contract in six days, and another in West Chester that went in less than a week. From the outside, someone could say the market was hot and it was easy. But fast doesn’t always mean easy. Sometimes fast means the work was done before everyone else saw it: seller conversations, prep, pricing strategy, content, paid ads, open houses, follow-up, and yes, door knocking.

Some people wonder why I still door knock around my listings when the neighbors aren’t buying the house. Maybe they aren’t. But they might know someone who is, a cousin, a friend, a coworker who’s been waiting for that exact type of home. Beyond that, it creates energy. It tells the neighborhood something is happening and makes the launch feel active instead of passively hoping Zillow does the job. During launch week, I want at least two open houses, and I’m there for them, watching buyer reactions and looking for patterns. Because selling a home isn’t just about finding a buyer. It’s about finding the right buyer, at the right price, with the right terms, and the best chance of actually closing.

The Moments That Define the Job

This is where Freakonomics really comes back. The danger is an agent motivated by speed over outcome. A good agent has to be aware of that temptation and choose differently.

I once had an out-of-state buyer call me ready to write an offer at asking price. The home had been sitting about 30 days. In that moment, I could have made it easy. I could have written it at asking, maybe nudged them to waive inspections, gotten it clean and moving. If I were only thinking about getting paid, that’s the easy path. But I knew there was probably room to negotiate, maybe $15,000. To an agent, the commission difference on that is small. To the client, $15,000 is real money. That’s furniture, repairs, reserves, closing-cost help, breathing room. So the question was simple: do I use the client’s trust to make my life easier, or to protect them? That’s the job.

I’ve seen it on the seller side too. I had a seller go under contract, then the buyer backed out midway through. Stressful, because he’d already mentally moved on. We’d previously had an offer more than $35,000 over asking, and that was gone. Then an agent I knew brought a real offer close to asking, but we had to take it that day. From an agent’s standpoint, that’s tempting. Take it, move on, avoid the uncertainty. But the seller trusted me, and after we talked it through, he decided to decline and go back to market. That’s not easy, because after a buyer backs out, fear creeps in: what if we don’t get another offer, what if that was the best one. Sometimes leadership means helping a client avoid a fear-based decision.

Know, Like, and Trust

Economists can talk about incentives. Books can talk about commissions. Consumers can compare fees. All of that matters. But real estate still comes down to something very human: do you know the person, like them, and trust them.

That trust is powerful, sometimes scary how powerful. A client making one of the biggest financial decisions of their life looks at you and asks, “What do you think?” You can push them, slow them down, make something feel urgent or risky, frame a decision in a way that changes what they do next. That’s real influence. And like the line goes, with great power comes great responsibility. It sounds funny to quote Spider-Man in a real estate conversation, but it’s true. If clients trust us with that kind of influence, we have a responsibility not to abuse it or use it just to make the deal easier.

That’s the difference between a salesperson and an advisor. A salesperson asks, “How do I get this closed?” An advisor asks, “What’s the right decision for this client?” Sometimes that’s moving forward, sometimes negotiating harder, sometimes pausing, sometimes walking away, sometimes telling a client what they don’t want to hear. Trust isn’t built when everything is easy. It’s built when the decision is uncomfortable.

What to Actually Ask an Agent

If you’re a consumer, don’t just ask “what do you charge?” It’s fair, but it’s not the only question. Ask:

• What do you actually do before my home hits the market?
• How do you price a home?
• How will you market it beyond the MLS?
• What happens if we don’t get offers right away?
• Will you personally attend the open houses?
• How do you handle multiple offers, and how do you compare price, terms, contingencies, and risk?

And my favorite: what would you tell me that another agent might be afraid to say? That one tells you a lot. The best agent isn’t always the one who makes you most comfortable in the appointment. Sometimes it’s the one who tells you the truth before the market does, because the market is far less gentle. It doesn’t care about your feelings, the number you hoped for, what you need to net, or what your neighbor sold for if your home is different. You need someone who helps you interpret reality before reality gets expensive.

The Bottom Line

So are realtors worth the commission? My honest answer: some are, some aren’t. The license doesn’t make you valuable. The work does. The judgment, the preparation, the negotiation, the willingness to tell the truth, and the ability to carry trust without abusing it.

That’s what consumers should look for. Not the cheapest agent, not the loudest, not the one who promises the highest number. The clearest agent. The most prepared. The one with a real process who’s willing to protect you even when it makes their job harder. That’s the agent who can justify the commission, not because they say they’re worth it, but because they earn it.

And if you’re an agent reading this, my challenge is simple. Don’t just defend your commission. Earn it. Build the process, do the work, tell the truth, think long term, protect the client. The commission is how you get paid, but trust is how you build a business.

Freakonomics was right to challenge the industry. The incentive problem is real. But it doesn’t have to define every agent. The best ones are aware of the temptation and choose to operate differently, building on trust, reputation, preparation, and doing the right thing. Because commission shouldn’t just be charged. It should be earned.

If this gave you a clearer way to think about hiring an agent, send it to someone who’s about to buy or sell and is only comparing fees. And if you’re in Montgomery County, Philadelphia, or the surrounding suburbs and want an agent who’ll tell you the truth before the market does, let’s talk.