You don't need a real estate agent, particularly a buy-side agent. Look at the housing markets in the UK and Australia. Buy-side agents have never existed there, and are a particularly odd quirk of the U.S. market. When you close the deal you typically have a banker there, and ideally a lawyer. So what does the agent actually do? Drive you around to houses you have already previewed online?
Being a real estate agent is no different than being an investment banker or a consultant. Realtors are deal-driven and therefore, not a true advocate for clients. If a client pays more for a house than they should, then the buy-side and sell-side agents make more commission. If a house sells quickly then it is less hassle for the sell-side agent. So to be fair, there is something of a balancing dynamic to the market, and there are surely good and skilled agents out there, but don't count your real estate agent in your corner. Their interests are not necessarily aligned with yours.
You don't need a real estate agent, particularly a buy-side agent. Look at the housing markets in the UK and Australia. Buy-side agents have never existed there, and are a particularly odd quirk of the U.S. market. When you close the deal you typically have a banker there, and ideally a lawyer. So what does the agent actually do? Drive you around to houses you have already previewed online?
Being a real estate agent is no different than being an investment banker or a consultant. Realtors are deal-driven and therefore, not a true advocate for clients. If a client pays more for a house than they should, then the buy-side and sell-side agents make more commission. If a house sells quickly then it is less hassle for the sell-side agent. So to be fair, there is something of a balancing dynamic to the market, and there are surely good and skilled agents out there, but don't count your real estate agent in your corner. Their interests are not necessarily aligned with yours.