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There have been many posters constantly discuss how market forces will force rake down. The logic is simple, and based on the idea that fair and open competition will lead to a lowering of prices. It’s a common assumption in economics, and it is really a logical conclusion. A lot of posters I highly respect have this view. But I think they are dead wrong.

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Here's an example from another market of why you may be right. In the US real estate market, realtors charge in the neighborhood of 6% of the value of a home to sell it. In the Seattle area, the average home is now going for $400,000.

This means it costs $24,000 to sell your house in Seattle. This is totally insane, real estate agencies don't need to charge anywhere near this amount, they'd be profitable charging a third of this or less.

It's not an unbreakable law that market forces drive prices down, it's merely a tendency.