It's a scenario seen time and time again: A home owner wants to sell their house, so they stick a "For Sale By Owner" sign out front. They figure that selling alone will save them big money on the commission, while only requiring a bit more work on their part. In fact, 48% of people selling without an agent cite this as the primary reason why they chose to do so. While this may seem reasonable, the reality is that homes sold through a trained real estate agent sign for an average of $39,000 more than those sold by owner!