“You get what you pay for” is a popular refrain among real estate agents who try to defend their commissions. But according to a new report, when buying or selling a house, you can get all the service conventional agents offer without having to pay the going rate.

The report, from the Consumer Policy Center, says that fears about low-fee agents offering a lower quality of service are “unfounded.”

“This is not to argue that (consumers) stop using real estate agents, whose knowledge and expertise can be very valuable,” writes CPC Senior Fellow Mark Nadel, “just that they’ve been grossly overpaying for those agents' services due to a lack of effective price competition among agents.”

Like many stockbroker and travel agent fees prior to the 1980s, the report maintains, traditional realty agent fees are “ridiculously excessive.” If there were more price competition among agents, it says, as much as $30 billion annually would be put back into the pockets of consumers.

In urging buyers and sellers to consider low-fee agents, the report exposes the misconceptions that lead consumers to accept current commission rates as reasonable and justified. To be sure, consumers should continue to choose their agents based on experience, skills and track record, as well as their fees. But “a lower fee should be a plus, not a minus,” writes Nadel.

It’s natural to assume there must be something lacking with agents who charge as little as half the going commission rate. After all, buying a house is one of the largest financial transactions people will ever undertake, so many choose to play it safe.

Nadel argues that realty agents are not like other commissioned salespeople, for whom a commission based on the percentage of the sales price is warranted. He calls it “a flawed analogy” to think that they are.

For most salespeople, the price of the goods or services they sell is set to recover their employer’s costs -- including a commission -- plus a specific profit. So, if a salesperson doubles their sales, they also double their commission. In these cases, commissions incentivize people to sell more.

But in real estate, the price is not set to recover the seller’s cost plus a profit. Rather, the seller aims to secure the highest price possible. “Selling a $900,000 home does not generate triple the 'profit' of selling a $300,000 home,” Nadel writes.

The time and costs incurred by agents are “generally unrelated” to the home’s price, he says. Agents perform the same tasks whether they sell a $300,000 house or one priced at $900,000. Yet at a 3% commission, they earn $9,000 on the first house and $27,000 on the second.

At the same time, many agents think nothing of paying electricians or painters the same hourly rates to prepare a $900,000 house for sale as they pay them to work on a $300,000 property.

If a traditional listing agent tells you that a low-fee agent will skimp on the quality of the services they offer, Nadel suggests sellers turn the tables: “Ask the listing agent why they charge double for the same level of work they would do for selling a home priced at half as much,” he says.

The CPC expert has additional recommendations:

-- Sellers should stipulate in the listing agreement that the seller retains any funds offered to pay the buyer’s agent if that agent has already offered to accept a lower fee.

Normally, if the selling agent charges 6%, it's split with the buyer’s agent, 50-50 -- they each get 3%. But if the buyer’s agent charges their client just 1%, under standard agreements, the seller’s agent would stand to rake in 5%. Rather, the savvy seller should make sure the other 2% reverts back to them.

By demanding that the extra commission returns to the seller, the seller can bargain with the buyer about how the extra funds will be allocated -- perhaps back to the buyer -- rather than allowing them to passively flow as a bonus to the listing agent.

-- Sometimes, buyers are offered the choice to skip viewing any houses in which the seller has declined to pay the buyer-agent’s fee. “Refuse that option,” says Nadel. Do not allow agents to screen out houses that do not expressly offer buyer-agent co-op fees.

You may be offered such a choice as a way to avoid having to pay the negotiated fee to the buyer’s agent, as well as the entire commission. But your concern should be your total cost, including commissions, rather than whether the commissions are included in the price of the house.

-- Sellers would do well to consider their net yield rather than their gross. “The dollar figure that should matter to the seller is the amount they net after both agents are paid,” the report advises. It's possible, after all, that a lower offer made through a low-fee agent can result in a higher yield than a higher bid from a full-cost agent.

-- To protect against agents who intentionally overlook houses represented by low-fee agents, continue to use online search engines and broker websites to look for houses that meet your criteria. In other words, do as much of the legwork as possible on your own; don’t rely on the agent to do it for you.

This, says Nadel, will keep your agent honest.

People searching for rental properties on Facebook and Craigslist need to be careful: More than half the people who told federal watchdogs they were ripped off by a rental scam said it had originated on one of those two websites.

In a December report, the Federal Trade Commission said that since 2020, consumers have reported nearly 65,000 rental scams, with total losses running about $65 million. But that’s just the people who complained. Many people don’t, so the losses are likely much higher.

About half the complaints fielded by the FTC in the 12-month period ending in June 2025 involved phony ads posted on Facebook, the agency reported. Some 16% were on Craigslist, while 32% were on other sites.

Rental schemes usually involve fake listings, which can look very real, often containing information and photos copied directly from legitimate listings on social media. But the fake ads include the swindler’s contact information instead of the real landlord’s.

When you call, the thief on the other end of the line will take your application fee, your deposit and your first month’s rent -- and then scram. And if yours is a last-minute rental -- say, for a vacation month or two at the shore -- you might be asked for the entire rent in advance. Ouch!

When these con artists disappear, they not only leave you without your money, but without the home you'd expected to occupy. They also make things more difficult for honest landlords, whose legit listings are often raided for these frauds.

When you search for a rental online, check to see if there's more than one ad for the same property. If two listings appear but with different rental companies or phone numbers, there’s a good chance one is bogus.

Here, the FTC advises you to go to each landlord’s website and search for the property there. If it isn’t listed, that ad may be fake.

If they don’t steal actual listings, scammers make up their own. Be suspicious if the monthly rent is shockingly low for the area or for the type of house. Another hint: The place may come with an amazing assortment of amenities -- stuff like a pool, spa, tennis court or a killer view.

You should always ask to see the place in person. If you can’t visit personally, have a friend in the area go by for a look. And if the landlord or owner always seems to be out of town when you want to view the place, your antennae should start to wiggle.

Don’t be rushed into making a decision. Take your time. If the place is real, and you lose it, another one will come along. If it's fake, however, the fraudster will often push you to decide right there on the spot, maybe by cutting the price. Don’t bite, especially if the price was already too low to believe.

The FTC also advises against sending any money for a property you’ve never seen, or to someone you’ve never met in person. If the swindler asks you to send money by wire transfer, gift cards or cryptocurrency, it’s the same as sending cash -- and it’s likely you’ll never see it again. Better to pay by credit card, which offers at least some protection.

Scammers make their livings by ripping people off, so the government agency suggests doing a little sleuthing before going too far or moving too fast.

Start by searching for the name of the property owner or rental company with the words “complaint,” “review” or “scam.” If others have fallen victim to a ruse with the company, they’re likely to post about their experiences online.

Ask the person you are dealing with for a business card and make certain everything on the card lines up -- the person’s name, phone number, license number and business phone number. You cannot be too careful.

If you are dealing with someone who says they are renting out their own property, the FTC advises checking the county tax assessment website to determine if they are the real owner. If the person says they're a relative or friend of the owner, it is worth a call to the owner to make sure the rental is on the up-and-up.

Keep your personal information private. If someone contacts you claiming to be working with the owner or rental company, ask to call them back -- but not at the number they give you. Rather, call the listed owner’s number, or that of the rental company, and ask for the person who just called you. They may not exist.

Finally, the government wants to know if you’ve been cheated or think you’ve run into a scam. Report your experience to your local law enforcement agency, consumer affairs agency, state’s attorney general and the website where the ad was posted. Also report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

It’s time to pay your utility bill, so you go online to find the, say, water company’s website to make your payment. Up pops a site that looks official. It has the company’s logo, professional layout and even the company name in the URL. So, you enter your payment information -- and within hours, your bank account is drained dry.

It’s the latest scam levied against unaware homeowners. And what makes it so dangerous, says Genady Vishnevetsky, chief info security officer at Stewart Title Guaranty in Houston, is that criminals aren’t just blasting out random emails.

Instead, “They’re building websites that appear in your search results when you’re actively trying to pay a legitimate bill,” says the security expert. “You’re already in payment mode, ready to enter your banking information.”

In some cases, the thieves actually pay your utility bill so you won’t find out your money is gone until your balance hits zero.

To protect yourself, Vishnevetsky says go directly to the utility’s home page. “Never search for the payment portal,” he advises. “Type the official URL into your browser. If you don’t know the official address, call the number on your bill.”

The security pro also warns people to give the URL a hard look before entering it, noting that scammers often use similar addresses to that of your utility but using different letters, added words or phone numbers that are off by a single digit. And beware if the site promises to pay your bill for a “small fee.”

“Your utility company doesn’t need an intermediary,” Vishnevetsky warns. Nor will the utility ask for banking information over the phone.

Gathering places like coffee shops and neighborhood parks have long been the staple of larger master-planned properties. But beer gardens?

Local breweries are a big draw for younger homebuyers, developers told the trade journal BUILDER recently. Indeed, they are vital, said a researcher. “People are craving ways to feel connected and supported in their day-to-day lives, and if a community can offer that, they’ll have a real advantage,” she said.

A Texas builder told the magazine that his firm designs its properties “around human connection, not just homes.” A brewery or beer garden concept “fits naturally into our philosophy of building ‘cultural living rooms’ that promote joy, belonging and everyday interaction,” he said. “For us, it’s about creating an anchor for social life rather than simply adding another trendy amenity.”

If you are planning to sell your home this year without the help of an agent, consider these statistics from Clever Real Estate:

Four out of 5 do-it-yourselfers regret going it alone, with 1 in 5 citing the most common lament: a lack of offers. Half felt overwhelmed by the process, and slightly more than that said buyers don’t trust them. Clever also found that sellers with an agent earned an average profit of $207,500, $79,000 more than the average FSBO (For Sale By Owner) gain of $128,500.

More than a third of nontraditional sellers wished they had used an agent, while 2 in 5 wished they had priced their homes differently.

If these numbers don’t stop you from going it alone, Clever has compiled a library of articles to help with the process: “How I Sold My House Without a Realtor,” “Paperwork for Selling a House by Owner: Full List of Documents,” “How to List on MLS by Owner in 2026” and “Best Flat Fee MLS Listing Services in 2025.” These can all be found on the Clever website (listwithclever.com).

About 7% of all single-family houses built last year were on sites where another house was demolished to make way for the new one, according to data from Home Innovation Research Labs.

Called “teardowns,” the new structures are mostly built in older neighborhoods where the houses they are replacing are largely out-of-date, derelicts or abandoned and the ground they sit on is worth more than the houses themselves. With teardowns, it’s usually more financially feasible to just knock them down and start over than to try to fix them up.

A whopping 85% of the folks responding to a Nationwide Insurance survey plan to stay in their homes forever. The other 15% view their places as starter homes.

It’s not done so much anymore, but years ago, homeowners used to celebrate paying off their mortgages with mortgage-burning parties, in which they actually set fire to their loan papers.

The concept of paying off a mortgage was so important, reminds Joe Garrett of the Garrett McAuley mortgage advisory firm, that in the great American play, “Death of a Salesman,” Willy Loman waited to take his own life until after he made his final house payment.