In this do-it-yourself digital age, home sellers and buyers alike might wonder if they really need real estate agents — or, more precisely, if they need to pay agent fees. Just how crucial are these ...

A flat fee in real estate is a charge that home sellers pay to have their home listed on the market. In a flat-fee model, a real estate agent charges a fixed rate for their services rather than a ...

Terry Lane is a writer for Investopedia with 25 years of experience in journalism and communications. He covers personal finance, Congress, government regulations, and economics. David Ryder / ...