Let's do some math that the real estate industry would prefer you not do.

Say you buy a house for $350,000. A typical buyer's agent commission is 2.5% to 3% of the purchase price. That means you're paying somewhere between $8,750 and $10,500 for your agent's services. On a $500,000 home, that's $12,500 to $15,000.

Now I want you to ask yourself a very simple question: do you know what you're getting for that money? Not in vague terms. Not "they help you through the process." Specifically. What does $10,000 worth of buyer's agent services actually look like?

Because when you break it down task by task, the answer is uncomfortable.

What the Commission Supposedly Covers

A buyer's agent typically provides the following services. They search for properties that match your criteria. They schedule and attend showings with you. They write and submit offers on your behalf. They negotiate with the seller's agent. They coordinate the closing process, making sure inspections, appraisals, and paperwork happen on time.

That's the job. Those are the services your $10,000 buys. Let's look at each one honestly.

Property search. Twenty years ago, this was genuinely valuable. Your agent had access to the MLS and you didn't. They were your window into what was available. Today, you can see the exact same listings on Zillow, Redfin, and Realtor.com the same day they hit the MLS. Often within hours. You can set up alerts, filter by every criteria imaginable, and save your favorites. The search function that used to justify a significant portion of the agent's value is now free and available to everyone with a phone.

Showings. Your agent drives you around and lets you into houses. That's the core of what a showing is. On a typical purchase, you might tour 10 to 15 homes over the course of a few weeks. Each showing takes about 30 to 45 minutes including drive time. So we're talking maybe 10 to 15 hours of your agent's time for this piece. At $10,000 in commission, that works out to somewhere between $650 and $1,000 per showing. For unlocking a door and walking through a house with you.

Writing offers. This is where agents will tell you they earn their money. And to be fair, writing a competitive offer does require knowledge of the local market and standard contract language. But here's the thing: purchase agreements are largely standardized documents. The terms that matter most, price, contingencies, closing date, earnest money, are decisions that you make. The agent fills in the blanks. A real estate attorney can review an offer either for a flat fee or a per hour rate. The entire document, with zero involvement from a buyer's agent.

Negotiation. This is the big one. This is where the industry claims agents really prove their worth. And sometimes that's true. A skilled negotiator can save you money on repairs, closing costs, or even the purchase price. But how much of this "negotiation" is actually happening on a typical transaction? In a competitive market where sellers are fielding multiple offers, the negotiation is often just "here's our best offer, take it or leave it." The nuanced back and forth that agents describe in their marketing materials is increasingly rare.

Closing coordination. Making sure the inspection gets scheduled, the appraisal happens, the title company has what they need, and the paperwork gets signed. This is project management. It's important, but it's not $10,000 important. A closing typically involves maybe 5 to 10 hours of coordination spread over 30 to 45 days.

The Time Math

Add it all up. A reasonable estimate for the total hours a buyer's agent spends on an average transaction is somewhere between 30 and 50 hours. That includes everything. The searching, the showings, the offer writing, the negotiating, the coordinating, the phone calls, the emails, all of it.

At $10,000 in commission on a $350,000 home and 40 hours of work, your buyer's agent is making $250 an hour. That's more than most attorneys charge. It's more than most specialized consultants charge. And unlike those professionals, your agent doesn't need an advanced degree or a license that took a decade to earn. A real estate license requires, on average, 60 to 90 hours of coursework and a passing score on a state exam.

I'm not saying agents don't work hard. Many of them do. I'm saying that the compensation structure is completely disconnected from the actual labor involved, and buyers deserve to understand that math before they commit to paying it.

The NAR Settlement Changed the Game

In 2024, the National Association of Realtors settled a landmark antitrust lawsuit that fundamentally changed how buyer's agent commissions work. Before the settlement, the seller typically paid both the listing agent and the buyer's agent. This meant buyers felt like the commission was "free" because it wasn't coming directly out of their pocket in an obvious way.

That was always an illusion. The commission was baked into the sale price. You were paying for it through a higher purchase price and a higher mortgage. But because it was hidden, buyers never questioned it.

The settlement changed this. Sellers are no longer required to offer compensation to buyer's agents through the MLS. Buyers now need to sign agreements with their agents specifying what they'll pay. This means for the first time, buyers are confronted with the actual dollar amount they're committing to and they're starting to ask whether it's worth it.

This is a good thing. Not because agents are bad, but because transparency is good. When you can see the price tag, you can make an informed decision about whether the services justify the cost. And for a lot of buyers, especially tech savvy first time buyers who are already doing most of their own research online, the answer might be no.

What $10,000 Could Do for You Instead

Here's the thought experiment that really puts this in perspective. Take that $10,000 you'd spend on a buyer's agent and think about what else you could do with it.

You could hire a real estate attorney to review all your contracts and handle closing for $1,500 to $2,500. You could pay for your own home inspection, appraisal, and any additional specialized inspections for $1,000 to $1,500. You could put the remaining $6,000 to $7,000 toward your closing costs, your moving expenses, or that immediate repair fund you're going to need when you realize the dishwasher is older than you are.

Or you could just keep it. Put it in savings. Reduce your mortgage by that amount. Use it as a cushion against the unexpected expenses that homeownership inevitably brings.

The point isn't that every buyer should fire their agent. The point is that every buyer should understand exactly what they're paying, exactly what they're getting, and make that decision based on real information instead of industry convention.

Because $10,000 is too much money to spend on autopilot.