My experience is unique to me, I can't speak for this being status quo, but I'll answer your points. My wife and I have been looking for the last year and a half or so, the first 8 months with a realtor, the last without. We're looking primarily in SF in the 800K range but at some houses in the East Bay and Marin. Note that in this area this is not the large end of the spectrum 800K will get you a nice condo and if you are lucky maybe a single family home. This isn't like some areas where you're looking for a premium property at that price.

We're also doing this in a buyers market - which gives us a lot of leverage and we also know the area. My wife has lived here for 8 years, I've lived here my whole life, so we don't benefit from getting a locals input from an agent as we would moving to a town where we are not familiar, this would be a benefit to many.

In the first months, working with a realtor, we never saw a house not listed on MLS, (which we used via Redfin).

Second we we're always able to call a sellers agent and get a showing. If you tell them you are not currently working with an agent we found we got a very responsive agent who see's the opportunity to get both sides of the commission. Again its a buyers market so this may be easier now then in the past.

If you found the worth in using an agent by all means use one, its your prerogative. But the point is that the amount of work required of an agent doesn't really change with the price of the house. A commission basis for a buyer's agent is a piss poor model, and I'm at the end where its ridiculous.