The protagonist in my novels is a coach and real estate agent specializing in second homes. His boss, a tough office manager, told an out-of-state owner to “find another office” when the owner requested a grossly inflated asking price.

Recently, a longtime acquaintance and agent reduced the price of a waterfront second home by $500,000. Half a mil, more than 30 percent. When I stopped the agent on the street and asked him about it, he said “the original piece was the seller’s price. It wasn’t my price.”

I replied: “Then why did you take the listing?”

He responded as if I had insulted his child. Obviously the guy stands to get one side of the commission, regardless what price the house brings.

A real estate salesperson’s main job is to set a listing price that the market will bear, regardless what the owner says. It’s human nature to think your home is worth more than it is. But what percentage of agents ever turn down a listing, especially in this market?

Even though it’s fiction, perhaps I should present facts closer to the truth in the books.