Folks here should check out http://patrick.net/, run by a SF bay area programmer, for an opposing view on the necessity and desirability of Realtors(tm).

In terms of the MLS, at least in California, which has the largest one, it's run by Realtors(tm) for Realtors(tm). The board members are Realtors(tm); so are the "34 REALTOR® Associations" that are the MLS's customers. You can see crmls.org for more details.

In terms of attorneys, at least you can pay them by the hour. In the SF bay area, where house prices can be 10x-15x the national average, why should a Realtor(tm) be paid 10x-15x as much for doing approximately the same amount of work? Haircuts, which require approximately as much skill on the part of the service provider, don't cost 15x as much here. Also the more you spend, the more the Realtor(tm) gets paid; this precisely misaligns incentives.

Attorneys also have a far higher degree of legal obligation to you than a Realtor(tm) does. Check out the standard real estate contract, which is designed primarily to eliminate any legal responsibility on the part of the Realtor(tm), and only secondarily to conduct the actual house transaction.

Also it's rather silly to compare the amount of knowledge required to represent someone in court vs. show a house. To be a real estate agent in California, you have to spend 18 days taking three simultaneous correspondence courses. One of which can be "Computer Applications in Real Estate," which will teach you such difficult-to-master skills as "setting up e-mails," "using digital cameras," and "designing a power point presentation." Tests are T/F and multiple choice. I am not making this up: http://www.accreditedcareers.com/ca_info.pdf

Here's part of Assignment #1 (representing almost 10% of your final grade!):
1. Search Online for 5 Internet Service Providers and make a list with the URL next to the ISP name and list the price of each.
2. Search Online and find 5 different Online Vendors of computer hardware and make a list with the URL next to the Vendors name.
3. Search Online and find 5 Computer Software Vendors and make a list with the URL next to the Vendors name.
4. Using your URL go to http://www.dre.ca.gov find the latest Real Estate bulletin and just send the URL address to the bulletin on the list.
5. Download Yahoo Messenger and Install program. Using Yahoo Messenger Application set up a username and messenger account and send a request to ca_ares_course@yahoo.com to join your buddies. (this will also allow chat to the instructor)

It's true that Realtors(tm) can provide some value, for instance when they have deep knowledge of the local area. But whenever I've spoken at Realtor(tm) conferences -- a few times at Inman Connect in SF -- I've outraged the audience by telling them they'll be disintermediated as surely as their travel agent brethren, and describing how it will happen. My only regret is that it's taking so long.

If anyone is working on a startup to dislodge the Realtor(tm) effective monopoly[1], let me know.

[1] The DOJ sued the National Association of Realtors(tm) in 2005 for antitrust violations during the antitrust-averse Bush administration. Unfortunately the case was settled in 2008:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/28/business/28realty.html?_r=...