We sold our home in 2012 without a real estate agent. The commission that we saved allowed us to travel around the world for over a year.
As mentioned before, the information and tools are out there to do almost all of the job that an agent does, despite the real estate industry's best efforts to suppress them and retain their monopoly.
*HOWEVER* I don't think the profession will ever go away. There are several value-adds that an agent brings to the table that the DIY market may lack.
We are currently hanging out in the BC Interior in a town that is a tourism and retirement destination. It's the fastest growing market in BC, outpacing even Vancouver and Victoria.
Our friends here are the typical Okanagan specuvestors. They tell me that it's difficult negotiating real estate sale prices here without a realtor because some owners are too emotionally invested in their property. It's where they grew up, raised kids, etc. DIY sellers not only over-value their property, but become deeply offended at any negotiating below asking value. Fine if it's a large city - you just move on. But in a small town, if you tell Bill and Sally their house is overpriced by 20% and they get p!ssed off, it's going to be an uncomfortable situation when you regularly run into them at the supermarket or at the Y every month.
Also, some buyers and sellers have terrible social skills. And wheeling and dealing is, and has always been, foremost a people-person profession. Maybe in a hot market, you more apt to overlook or work around a boorish client or owner, who is either overly demanding or entirely unavailable, is insulting or condescending and has unrealistic expectations. But in a more competitive environment, buyers and sellers are going to prefer to work with people who are prompt, professional, courteous, diplomatic and un-emotional.
Some people are just not meant to interface with other people. These people *need* to have a real estate agent represent them to realize the full sale value of their property.
It's like the Financial Services market, where you've got both full-service vs self-directed brokerages. The investment tools and information are out there for everyone to access, but there are some folks who either don't have the aptitude or interest to manage their own money. Doctors are infamous for having high incomes but poor financial management skills. Also, this latest Meme Stock debacle will have some younger folks questioning their Stonk-picking prowess. And rightly so.
DIY investing has exploded over the last couple of decades and full-service industry has shrunk (or I should say, refocused on a smaller pool of wealthier clients). I see the same thing happening with Real Estate. I think the DIY RE will become more mainstream, but there will always be a more full or partial-service oriented model to cater with those with neither the time, attitude and/or skills required to wheel and deal real estate.
But with commensurate pricing that falls well below the current 5% commission model.
