Our current place was purchased with the help of an agent that refuses to be a seller's agent... So his reputatation is in getting people the deal on the right house so they're happy and share their good opinion. His commission is paid out of the purchase price, officially by the seller. You can look at it as conveniently rolling the fee into the loan if you prefer...
I'm still not sure it was worth it. My property tax is far from the worst in the area but is more than many pay as their mortgage
Then there are the upkeep headaches.
Oh, we're supposed to be helping reduce stress right?