I agrrr with you. I have been an agent for 35 years. Frankly I do not need to work for a franchise name now at this stage of my career. I have learned a lot and I am still adapting to the market. The customers I find they go with rookies who have no clue how to close a deal creatively. With my experience I have made deals in the past that would not have passed with rookies. Experience, years of knowledge , all kinds of markets with high as well as low interest rates have made me a very experienced broker. However brokers who spend over 200K in advertising are getting the listings. I do not advertise like them. So yes customers are interested in brokers that spend money advertising . Today, we are lucky we have an internet network that can reach buyers all over the world. I pay a lot for that service . I started in my 20s I do not take so many listings that I cannot handle so I can give good service to my customers

Yes, dealing with the emotions of selling/buying a home...The largest $$$ transaction in a lifetime for 95%+!

In the end, the ability to show added value right away - help with getting the home ready to sell, minor repairs, white-glove marketing efforts, and even the arduous moving process can all help compete with the big-box style franchises.