[kid disco]

Case study by Stanford economist B. Douglas Bernheim and Stanford grad student Jonathan Meer... (25 page PDF):

http://www.nber.org/tmp/45043-w13796.pdf

Sales commissions for residential real estate brokers historically average nearly six percent of a home’s closing price. Do brokers add sufficient value to justify those commissions? We address this question using a unique data set pertaining to sales of faculty and staff homes on the Stanford University campus. We find no evidence that the use of a broker leads to higher average selling prices, or that it significantly alters average initial asking prices. However, those who use brokers sell their houses more quickly.