Dual Agency; is it a double loss for the consumer?

Have you ever wondered why dual agency is legal? I mean, I've never understood. I came into this industry befuddled by the fact that the same agent could represent both sides of the transaction. It sounded like an attorney that was representing both the defendant and the plaintiff. I couldn't understand how it could be legal. As a consumer, or should I say consumers, that is involved in a dual agent situation, you are not receiving the same level of advice or representation as a consumer that is not in a dual agency transaction. So at that point, my question is, what are you paying for? I'll let you ponder the answer to that question....

http://realestatecafe.blogs.com/real_estate_cafe/2008/01/misleading-home.html

Everyone wants to sell real estate!

The real estate industry will face a new type of competitor; the type that they never thought of before. Companies like Walmart, HGTV (www.frontdoor.com), Virgin, and Google are looking at the real estate space to expand their business...

I mean, why wouldn't they? They already "own" thousands of consumers who trust them? They already know their consumers' spending habits. It just makes sense that they would tackle the largest purchase that most consumers make. So the Next Generation Real Estate brokerage must keep this in mind. You're not competing with Realogy, you are competing with Priceline.com, Zillow, and HGTV...

http://www.futureofrealestatemarketing.com/best-of-forem-crossover-real-estate-brands