In this episode, I lean all the way into a conversation most of the real estate industry avoids: fees, affordability, and who we’re really protecting.

Over the last five years, housing prices have jumped more than 60%. Agents charging the same percentage they did pre-COVID are now making significantly more, while the average family is falling further behind. Yet instead of asking how to make housing more accessible, the industry doubled down on defending high commissions, “knowing your worth,” and keeping fees off-limits for public discussion.

I share a real conversation I had with an agent who strongly disagreed with our 1% model and how that exchange exposed one of the biggest contradictions in real estate: agents demand better splits from brokers but expect clients to accept higher fees without question.

We talk about:

• Why commission conversations are discouraged and who benefits from that
• How AI and efficiency have increased agent profitability while fees stayed high
• The hypocrisy behind “knowing your worth” while resisting consumer savings
• Why Zillow, brokers, and coaches thrive when agents struggle
• And why affordability isn’t an industry problem, it’s a people problem

I’m not on team industry. I’m on team family trying to afford a home.

If this episode makes you uncomfortable, that’s probably the point.

Let’s talk about it.