If the goal is to improve the house buying experience like uber did with taxi business. Let's go Opendoor, for too long the real estate agents took advantage from system
The buying experience is a key part of that. If you're in Phoenix (or Dallas soon), check out our homes anytime. It's fun.
In the United States, buyers don't directly pay the realtor commission. The seller generally pays ~6%, but sometimes that's negotiated down. This commission is split between the buyer's agent and the seller's agent, with their brokerage typically taking a percentage. But a buyer wants to use an agent because their perception is that they're not paying for it, and most buyers aren't well versed with the house transaction process, which is complex.
You could certainly make the case that a transaction without agents would mean either more profit for the seller, or a lower house price for the buyer, but I think it will take many years until that is the norm. There are a huge number of laws built around real estate transactions, and the NAR is a major major lobbying entity.
This is gross. We just put our London place on the market, and the total commission we will be paying (to a normal high street agent) is 1%
NAR's stated purpose is to protect the commissions of the real estate agents. In some ways it's nice that they're so forthcoming about that, versus other lobbying orgs.