In Québec it's starting to be disrupted by duproprio.com where the sellers manages the sale themself. The company takes the pictures & 3d scan and provides legal support.
I guess real estate agents are so good at marketing that we believe it's a hard job that we can't do ourselves.
Yes, that's their job and primary purpose. Yes it's hard. Most people have anxiety to even talk to their neighbors without sweating.
Sure there are lots of idiots out there, like in every profession. But those who are not idiots are providing a valuable service. Try selling your house yourself and then let's chat again about how it's not a hard job that you could just do yourself.
What puzzles me the most is that some people have no trouble doing dangerous DIY like fixing their lawnmower with some duct tape but are scared of selling their house because "legal stuff".
Real estate agent are always hitting the nail with the message that we won't have to worry if we hire them. And because of that message, people have a tendency to think that selling is worrying.
If you are genuinely worried with the selling process, like if you have trouble speaking to your neighbour, sure hire an agent. Same if you don't have the time to do it yourself.
You'll pay them for the real service they provide and their real purpose.
If you are worried because they told you it's worrying, see for yourself.
Every apartment and house I've bought up to this day in my life (and I've moved quite a lot over the decades) would have been almost an impossible sale by the owners themselves. Their realtor was able to present the place, reply with empathy (that is, understood where I was coming from and what my interests are) and get back to me with important info about the property and district that the owners themselves usually had little clue about. The owners themselves where often awkward, hard to talk to and overall pretty clueless.
So, all those folks definitely got something out of hiring a realtor. Nothing to do with "legal stuff". Most people are just terrible at presenting and selling things. And that's fine. Claiming otherwise is closing your eyes for what's out there in the real world.
Just like I said, they can be helpful to a few individuals, but they're not really the embodiment of helpers in the community that they often present themselves like.
I guess real estate agents are so good at marketing that we believe it's a hard job that we can't do ourselves.