Raising Commissions is the New Black (Transmission #84)

The topic no one wants to touch with a nine foot pole, at least until Moerhl v. National Association of Realtors (NAR). 

Commissions.

Startup after startup has taken aim in the marketplace at commonly accepted agent commission practices. Redfin launched in 2005 as a discount brokerage. In 2015, one of its founders, David Eraker, took another stab at slicing commissions with Surefield. GoldenKey went belly up, as did SideDoor. HomeBay, Reali and Trelora are more recent attempts and more will arrive on the scene pushing the same theme.

Opendoor’s CEO has even gone so far to say that they’re working to make the cost of buying and selling zero (locked). 

Seemingly, everyone -- except agents, of course -- believes that agents are overpaid, although amid all the shots being fired, nothing has taken hold.

But what if there is a segment where the opposite is true? Where the opportunities for commissions are driven up, not down?