Real estate agent here. I’m based in Oz so it’s a bit different but I can tell you from experience that depending on the circumstances you would either be an idiot to use one or an idiot not use one. Id say 40% of sales could have been done as effectively by the owner and saved them some money. You have to factor time and hassle into this equation but it can work out well. 40% definitely need the help as they have no idea what they are doing. 20% of properties are either special/unique enough or have some factor or feature that really deserve an agent and you would be doing yourself a mis service to not have one. Simple truth is a good hard working agent is almost always worth the 1%-2% commission. On a $1 million dollar property the average cost of the agent and marketing is between $15k-$25k, I’ve been involved in sales where we had a final offer from all interested parties and 1 extra phone call to an old client or calling back the people who said they definitely weren’t interested has resulted in further offers that well exceeded our fees. If you decide to use an agent go to a few opens and see how well the agents conducting them follow up with you. From a sellers perspective that should be the most important part of choosing who to work with. Feel free to PM if you have any questions