"About a dozen ... Realtors returned last week from a trip to China where they learned about Chinese culture, made contacts and spoke at a one-day conference hosted by Homelink, Beijing’s largest real estate agency by market share."
From Web Link
With Real Estate so hot now, houses sell very quickly. Sometimes in a week or two.
Many Realtors "take" is based NOT on whether or how hard they work,
but on a percentage of the sale,
which is probably NOT related to the effort it takes.
A choice high priced house might be easier to sell than a cheap one.
With many houses selling for near $1 million, 6 % is about $60,000!
How long would the average person have to work to earn that much money?
Keep in mind that this is the same group who helped create the real estate price bubble,
that left many in foreclosure, when it burst.
They marketed houses to people who could not afford to keep up the payments, mostly so they could get a commission.
What reason do these people have for running a website to sell local houses in Chinese,
like the Pacific Union shown,
other than greed?
You don't need to subsidize their Lexus.
The time to negotiate the commission is when you list your house.
Many more honest real estate people will work for a much lower rate,
or will work by the hour. Particularly now when real estate is selling fast.
[Portion removed because it was incorrect.]