E-mail piles up without mercy when I'm vacation, but I am able to sift quickly through myriad complaints about things I've done or not done.

My favorite was from a real estate agent who insisted that new homes had no effect on the prices of existing homes, even though I forwarded him information contradicting his view, including an-- excerpt from the Harvard Centers for Housing 2006 report that showed when fewer homes are built, existing ones usually increase in price -- you know, supply and demand.

In addition, since new homes tend to be more expensive than existing ones, their higher median prices boost the median price for a particular area - especially if the number of new homes sold is much greater than existing home sales.

He didn't buy it, so I thanked him for his observations and moved on.

Another thing I didn't do, and was chastised for, was to write about the report by the Consumer Federation of America referring to the nation's real estate industry as a "cartel that tries to set prices and restrict service options," in the words of CFA executive director Stephen Brobeck. (See Blanche Evans article, "Are Banks, Newspapers Behind Recent Real Estate Industry Rants." )

The price the industry is trying to set refers to commissions -- 6 to 7 percent. As some of us know, commissions are negotiable, meaning no one has to pay the full commission if he or she doesn't want to. And also many agents charge a far smaller commission rate.

The trouble is, most people don't seem to know that, since whenever I write it, sellers e-mail me, telling me that I'm wrong.

Why didn't my agent tell me that, the seller will say? It should be in the disclosure statement, I reply. Well, there's so much to read, I just didn't get the chance, they say.

Here's California's "Disclosure of the Negotiability of Real Estate Commissions:"

An agreement (such as a listing or sales agreement) which establishes or increases the amount or rate of a real estate broker's/agent's compensation for the sale of residential real property of not more than four units or a mobile home must contain the following disclosure in not less than 10-point boldface type: Notice: The amount or rate of real estate commissions is not fixed by law. They are set by each broker individually and may be negotiable between the seller and broker.

This notice must be physically placed before the provision in the agreement for compensation of the broker(s)/agent(s), and the amount or rate of compensation cannot be preprinted. Further, any compensation to be received by the broker from the transaction must be fully disclosed.

Most listing agreements contain the wording of the California notice. There's no such thing as a legal minimum commission or a mandatory percentage. Commissions vary. The price and type of property being sold also affect the percentage. Commissions on houses, for example, usually range from 4 to 7 percent of the sale price, and commissions on vacant land can go as high as 10 percent.

If you don't know the commission is negotiable, then you aren't reading. Frankly, we can do all the finger-pointing we want, but if the majority of consumers can't be bothered to read the documents placed before them that affect the largest transaction of their lives, our efforts are being wasted. Educating yourself is the first step -- in more industries than real estate.

I'm not siding with the real estate industry. I'm not denying that there aren't agents and brokers who forget to mention some things or provide a necessary disclosure form or two. I busy myself at least one morning every couple of months reviewing the decisions of real estate commissions in three Middle Atlantic states against agents and brokers who don't always adhere to the letter of real estate law (the most-mentioned offense is failing to set up an escrow account for earnest money).

A lot of very smart agents and brokers long ago concluded that the smarter consumers and even some of the not-so-smart ones want to negotiate price of services. They have unbundled their services to let sellers pick and choose, and developed fee schedules for them. They assume that consumers who might not read would be willing to shop, much in the way they do on QVC or on ebay.

If real estate agents and brokers are truly engaging in "anti-competitive practices," as the CFA alleges, consumers can respond by demanding to negotiate. You need not take no for an answer.

There seems to be more than enough real estate agents to go around these days, and as the market continues to slow, I'm sure they'd be more than willing to negotiate.