Good points raised
As with many matters today there is a case for a set commission, due to the extreme increase in property prices, maybe in two layers as the work required is basically the same regardless of the value of the property, there is no need any more for a % commission where a set price is fairer
In many cases an agent will spend more time selling a cheap low quality home that they would with a very high market home
As Grant says many houses today are sold when the first person walks through the door and begs to buy it, but that is now and when properties crash, as they will, then the majority of the RE salesmen will be out of a job
Australians, regardless of the bad reputation that RE salespeople have, they still trust them far too much to "do the right thing"
The consumer affairs are at fault as they do not do enough education of the public and they do not enforce bad behavior properly
As to selling your own home there are very few with the capacity to do it properly so a seller should negotiate a low commission and then also make certain that the agent does the job properly
There is provision on the Agents authority for you to specify what YOU want the agent to do to earn the commission
