Realtors get rich
This story in the New York Times (registration required) is not an unusual scenario. Fifteen months ago our realtor set up exactly the same chain reaction and made a significant chunk of change. He did deserve credit for working hard for over six months to make the two sales and two purchases happen for two households even if there was some conflict of interest because he was representing both the buyer and the seller.
Earlier this month, Michael Neeley, a real estate broker in this leafy, upscale suburb, closed on the sale of a contemporary ranch house. A few days later, the sellers of that house bought another, larger ranch house.
Then, in a chain reaction, the sellers of the larger house closed on a $900,000 four-bedroom new colonial house. Mr. Neeley had a stake in all three deals, as well as the sale of two more homes, both for prices well above $1 million. In less than two weeks, he said he cleared nearly $98,000 in commissions, after splitting with other brokers and his firm.
...Real estate agents in the United States collected $61.1 billion in commissions last year, up 43 percent from $42.6 billion in 2000, said Steve Murray, editor of Real Trends, a real estate industry newsletter.