As an outsider it seems that RE agents bring exactly nothing to the table except FUD around the transaction process which they then exploit for commissions so everybody, except the agents, are worse off.
More than happy to be convinced otherwise.
Best and easiest $21k I've ever made (saved).
RE agents have some value. Maybe $1-2k? For convenience, paperwork preparation, etc. Similar to a lawyer.
But I sold our house in record time, at a price that was good for both us and the buyers. No games of telephone, just meeting and sending emails directly to one another. The lawyer does the actual legal work, the agent mostly just prepares PDFs. The various PDFs took me maybe a couple of hours total to get together.
But - some of the things I have to know about in order to assist clients might persuade you that there's more to real estate than what you see on the surface. For example:
-- Environmental issues, including water bacteria testing, well issues, oil tanks and their mitigation, radon, lead, and asbestos issues.
-- Zoning, which includes a whole lot of topics. Can I build an ADU? Can I build a house on this ag-zoned property? Can I use this property as a VRBO?
-- Marketing. Sure, some properties sell themselves - but some require getting the property in front of a unique buyer. Ever try to sell an equestrian property? A vineyard? A single-wide?
-- Negotiating. Again, easy to think it's all about whoever brings the most money to a deal, but it's not always that simple.
-- Market Analytics. Good agents know their numbers and spend significant time in their week crunching numbers to understand what's really going on and how to help their buyers and sellers maximize their positions.
-- Psychology. Your buyers and sellers are from every background imaginable and you have to try to understand their familial and financial situation and help them achieve their goals. This is an art form.
-- Financing. Sure you might not be the mortgage lender, but understanding all the different types of financing options so that you can advocate for your client - both with the other party as well as with lenders - puts you in the best possible position.
-- Law. A real estate license is a limited license to practice law. And every year I have to not only stay up on dozens of standard state form changes, but also whatever the legislature has done and any meaningful case law that is changing how we do business.
That's just kind of a smattering... it's easy to get a real estate license in most states, but to actually become a skilled agent is another matter. If you believe that in software there exist 10x developers, I assure you the same concept exists in real estate - there are agents that are worth their weight in gold for the things they can do for their clients, and then there's the great unwashed masses who can barely fill out the forms.