Real estate agents are in the midst of a civil war over whether to have fixed or floating rate commissions on properties. The traditional real estate industry is terrified of the free market and the national Association of Realtors is fighting hard to keep things the same. A recent profile in the Wall Street Journal featured an agency in Ohio that started discounting commissions and was basically ousted by other agencies in the area. The Los Angeles Times also featured a story on another agent who has decided to provide full commission service for half the money. How will it work? Basically, the woman will get paid on salary instead of commission. Technically, price fixing is illegal, but the traditional real estate industry ahs been able to fix commissions by browbeating agents involved. But things are changing. Pretty soon you will be able to get whatever level of service you want with a comparable commission rate. No longer will be it a market where you either sell-it yourself or pay full commission to a real estate agent. In addition, the U.S. Justice Department is currently suing the NAR for the price-fixing techniques it pushes. The marketplace needs to decide what happens here, not the real estate industry.