Low-priced Brokerage Is Shaking Up Real Estate

The L.A.Times reports:

With his soft-spoken manner and carefully coiffed silver mane, veteran real estate executive Hal Ellis hardly fits the role of industry upstart.

But the 74-year-old founder and chief executive of CataList Homes Inc. is engaged in a well-funded and sometimes caustic campaign to upend the traditional way homes are sold in California.


His strategy: Charge home sellers half what most commission-based brokerages do — 3% of the sales price instead of the standard 5% to 6% — without scrimping on service.

Competition reduces profits over the long run.