TY  - JOUR
AU  - Bernheim,B. Douglas
AU  - Meer,Jonathan
TI  - How Much Value Do Real Estate Brokers Add? A Case Study
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 13796
PY  - 2008
Y2  - February 2008
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w13796
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w13796.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
B. Douglas Bernheim
Department of Economics
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6072
Tel: 650/725-8732
Fax: 650/725-5702
E-Mail: bernheim@stanford.edu

Jonathan Meer
Department of Economics
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305
E-Mail: jmeer@stanford.edu
AB  - 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.
ER  -