Good morning.
What if every comparable sale your agent showed you was inflated by 5-6%, and they never told you? Happens all the time.
When agents pull "comps" to help price your home, they're showing you numbers that include tens of thousands in commission costs. But here's what they don't mention: those commissions are buried in the sale price, artificially inflating what looks like true market value.
The national average agent commission is 5.6% per transaction. That means on a $500,000 sale, $28,000 went to agents, not the seller or buyer. The actual value that was transferred between buyer and seller? $472,000.
The MLS's Transparency Problem
The Multiple Listing Service claims to provide transparent market data. Look closer and you'll see they're hiding the highest cost number.
Here's what agents see when they pull sold data: close price, buyer concessions (if any), and a "net close price." That "net close price" only subtracts buyer credits and concessions. Agent commissions (the biggest cost in most transactions) are nowhere on the report.
Actual MLS sold data from my local market (only visible to licensed agents) - concessions shown, commissions hidden.
And the MLS doesn't even share this concessions data with the public - only licensed agents get to see it.
The Math Brokerages Don't Want You to See
If comparable properties in your neighborhood sold for $500,000 with a traditional 5.6% commissions included, the actual property value was $472,000.
Eliminate the buyer agent commission entirely and you could list at $486,000 (a full $14,000 below comparable listings) and still net exactly the same as sellers who paid inflated commissions on a $500,000 sale.
Here's the real advantage: you're not just netting the same. You're selling faster.
Which property sells first: the one listed at $500,000 or the identical property listed at $486,000? Faster sales mean more money in your pocket when you factor in mortgage payments, insurance, utilities, maintenance, and opportunity cost.
The actual numbers:
Comparable sale: $500,000 with 5.6% commission ($28,000)
Actual property value: $472,000
Your strategic listing: $486,000 with 2.8% commission ($13,608)
Actual value to you: $472,392
Same net. $14,000 savings for buyers. Faster sale. Higher true ROI.
Why This Never Gets Mentioned
Most agents don't think about this because they've been trained to pull comps and price properties without questioning what's included in those numbers. It's how brokerages designed the system so they can sit back and collect their cut of inflated commissions without anyone questioning the math.
And here's the detail brokerages hope you never notice: buyers never see total commissions paid on settlement statements because those line items appear on the seller's statement. Yet it's the buyer's funds filling everyone's pockets. Coincidence? I think not.
The result? You're pricing based on inflated comparables while paying inflated commissions. You're leaving money on the table twice.
The transparency you need to price strategically doesn't exist in the traditional MLS system. And it won't, because the entire commission structure depends on keeping these costs hidden in the final sale price.
The Alternative Exists
PropertyPage.io was built to solve this transparency problem. Sellers and agents can list properties completely free and are encouraged to share commission totals and transaction data that the MLS deliberately hides.
When buyers can see actual commission costs instead of having them buried in sale prices, and when sellers can access true net sales data to price strategically and negotiate fair commission rates, everyone makes smarter decisions. The platform exists - transparency just needs to become the standard instead of the exception.
Ready to list with full transparency or see how this changes your buying strategy? Visit PropertyPage.io or email me directly at [email protected].
About me
I'm Mathew Speer, founder of Real Estate Insider News and PropertyPage.io, the first consumer-centered real estate listing platform. I've invested in real estate for two decades, worked as an agent for 14 years including time at large brokerage firms, and owned and operated my own independent real estate brokerage, Local Real Estate Advisors, for eight years.
After witnessing an industry that profits from keeping consumers in the dark, I authored "The Consumer's Guide to Buying and Selling Real Estate" and built PropertyPage.io to provide the transparency and control missing from traditional real estate transactions.
I write this newsletter to arm you with the knowledge that saves thousands while simplifying the process. I exposing the tactics, revealing the truth, and giving you the power to transact on your own terms in a system designed to work against you.