The actual business of real estate can be somewhat murky. Since most get a fee based on a percentage of the sale, they should, in theory, push for the best price. But as this is their main source of income, they may feel it is best to push for an earlier sale, rather than spend more time waiting for the best price for you. While this sounds conspiratorial, research shows that actual real estate brokers tend to hold their properties on the market longer than the average person. 

And if that’s not bad enough, an analysis of listings found that properties that had a real estate broker had, on average, lower sales prices than those that were unbrokered. In other words, brokers may have been responsible for lower final sales prices, as they wanted to just collect a commission and go. Now, this is obviously bad for the seller, but in this housing market, anyone that actually manages to lower the cost of a home is a hero in my eyes.

On the other end of the spectrum, many would still prefer to use a broker. Firstly, they might help sell a property with some serious flaws, such as the plethora shown in this article. But they tend to be familiar with the legal procedures and pitfalls of selling and buying real estate, which is a great help to anyone who doesn't enjoy pouring over law books and contracts for hours. The process isn’t any more fun either. Generally, if you are selling, you probably have another place to stay, but your real estate agent has to bring random people around constantly in the hope that someone will decide to buy. Fortunately, there are some modern solutions, so you don’t have to wait around the house to let people in.

The more old-fashioned variant is the lock box, where a real estate agent can access the key when you aren’t around to show people around. Since the whole point of a realtor is convenience, this solution makes a lot of sense. Some Airbnbs do the same so guests can check in while the owner sleeps, or knox boxes that firefighters can use to get into a bringing building in cases where the owner isn’t on site. There are now digital variants where real estate uses verification apps to access a property.