Realtors Are in Crisis–and Home Buyers Could Be the Winners

The "facts", huh? Like other transactions with fees to a third party, the form ("seller pays") is not the same as the transfer of value. The seller knows the commission will be paid and considers this in setting the price, but the buyer provides the money to meet the price. Absent the real estate commission, you would expect the price to end up somewhere between the seller's net and the buyer's gross. Other examples: taxes on cell phone bills, airline tickets, and W2 wages.

The buyer provides the funds that allow the transaction to proceed, so yes, the buyer does pay for both commissions. Absent realtor fees, both the buyer and seller would net a better deal.

I did study for the real estate licenses in California and Nevada. The textbook for the course explicitly recommended that seller's agents tell the seller that the buyer pays the fees, and buyer's agents tell the buyer that the seller pays the fees.... to distract from this price-fixing scam.