Real Estate Commissions and Home Search Efficiency

Borys Grochulski and Zhu Wang

Richmond Fed Economic Brief, 2024, vol. 24, issue 08

Abstract: In the U.S. residential housing market, homebuyers' agents typically offer free house showings and collect a commission equal to 3 percent of the price of the home bought by their clients. Our analysis shows that, by deviating from cost basis, this compensation structure may lead to elevated home prices, overused agent services and prolonged home searches. We explain that shifting to a simple a la carte compensation structure may improve home search efficiency and social welfare.

Keywords: real estate commission; housing market; homebuying (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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