Your property value has already taken a hit in this troublesome housing market - can you really afford an agent commission to get your home sold? Interestingly, now more than ever might just be when you need that expertise to navigate your way to a front yard SOLD sign in a housing market crowded with inventory.

In this climate of short sale and foreclosure, selling on your own, you may not have an accurate sense of what your home is worth. Even the folks at Zillow caution their website users that the “Zestimates” provided on their site “… are designed to be a starting point.” There are a plethora of complexities to pricing in this market. An experienced agent can give you qualified guidance to price your home.

What you don’t want is a “yes man.” Be wary of the agent who is just looking for the listing at any price and cannot provide you with the CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) numbers to back it up! In this market, you want representation by an agent who will give you realistic expectations.

It all really depends on your own situation - how much money, and more importantly TIME do you have to get your home sold? If you’re in an interest only payment and not building equity, time is of the essence! An agent commission may just pay for itself in lieu of your home sitting improperly priced and marketed for several months.

And should you find yourself in a position of impending foreclosure, it would certainly be worth your while to bring in an expert. An experienced agent can help you market your property and communicate with the bank to get the best outcome for everybody.

The question you may be needing to ask yourself in this rough market is not whether you can afford to hire a real estate agent to sell your home, but can you afford not to?