by Victoria Hunter

Created on: October 11, 2009   Last Updated: October 12, 2009

Real estate agents are good for one thing: helping a buyer purchase a home. There are several reasons this is true, the biggest is that their services to a buyer are FREE. If you are in the market for a home, by all means, use the services of a real estate agent.

If you are thinking of selling, on the other hand, you absolutely do not need a real estate agent.

The average person is perfectly capable of selling his or her home without an agent. Of course those in the business of real estate don't want you to know that. But seriously, what do they know that you can't learn through research? Are real estate agents smarter than the rest of us? 64 percent of them lack a college degree. That's a staggering statistic for a group that displays such arrogance with regards to their "specialized" knowledge.

You may, on the other hand, find it more convenient to hire an agent to sell your home. The home selling process is time-consuming. If you want to pay someone to handle all the details, by all means, hire an agent.

Let's take a look at some of the reasons that real estate agents will give you when trying to promote their services.

1. Statistics

A wise man once said, "Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." I just read an article, written by a Realtor in 2009, that stated this statistic, "Realtors average 13% higher sales, per home, than FSBO's." That's pretty impressive, isn't it?

It's also patently false. Oh, it was true at one time. In fact, I think this particular agent got that statistic from a 2005 report commissioned by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Well, there's an unbiased group! Think they might have just a tiny agenda? If the truth be known, this same association's more recent studies show that FSBO's actually sell for more than homes sold by agents. "The median selling price as a percentage of the asking price was 97% for FSBO, and for agent-assisted sales was 96%." (NAR) Now, granted, 1 percent isn't a huge difference, but it more accurately reflects the current state of affairs and it's not quite as scary as the old statistic.

2. Realtors can research market value

So can butchers, bakers and candlestick makers. Researching the market value of a home is far from rocket science. If Realtors, a group made up of mainly people with no higher education, can do this research, isn't it possible that the rest of us can too? If you are really unsure of your ability to do this you can call any real

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