>What’s preventing homeowners from buying and selling to each other directly? Why do we need real estate agents?
Because a slight miscalculation in value, lack of market insights or poor salesmanship can lead to tens of thousands of dollars left on the table by the seller.
Yeah, no. In countries like India you don't use agents to buy or sell property and the free market finds value just fine. That's just one example I'm familiar with and it was pre internet.