When Kevin Colquitt decided to place his Gaithersburg townhouse on the market last month, he knew it would be tough. Prices in the neighborhood had fallen from the market's peak, and he faced competition from distressed sellers scrambling to accept lowball offers.

Colquitt, 37, not only has waded into one of the worst housing markets in decades, but he is also doing it without a real estate agent. He is gambling that he can save the $29,000 or so he would pay in real estate commissions if his home sells at its listed $485,000 price. "Even if it's a one-in-six chance that we can sell it by ourselves, it's a good thing," Colquitt said.

The foreclosure crisis and falling home prices have made it more difficult for owners to squeeze a profit from the sale of their homes. Some are trying to save by avoiding agent commissions. The agents representing the seller and buyer typically each receive about 3 percent of the selling price of the home, with the seller picking up the tab. While some sellers go the for-sale-by-owner route in strong markets and weak, the overwhelming majority of transactions involve agents.

Agents maintain that they earn their money. They bring a critical eye, identifying the improvements needed to make a home ready for sale and an expertise to setting the right price, argues the National Association of Realtors, which represents more than 1 million agents. Selling a home yourself is time-consuming, including developing a strong marketing campaign, according to the industry group.

Besides, said Walter Molony, a spokesman for the Realtors association, the commission can be negotiated. Some companies, such as Redfin, an online brokerage based in Seattle, offer sellers flat-fee $5,000 or $7,000 packages for selling help, including setting the price and negotiating the deal.

But for owners willing to put in the effort, the strategy can work, said Maynard Gottlieb, a real estate broker and the head of Mr. Lister, a Baltimore-based site aimed at the do-it-yourself crowd. The Internet has been an equalizer, allowing homeowners to gain extensive exposure for their homes, as well as research setting the proper price, he said. "People are pretty savvy today in being able to use the Internet to check the public records and to see what homes have gone for so they can price accordingly," Gottlieb said. "It's the same information they would get from a Realtor, but they do have to do their own homework."

Many home sellers in the Washington region are taking the challenge.

Colquitt plunged in despite failing to sell a home on his own before. In 2006, he listed his Las Vegas house himself, hoping to save a $15,000 commission. But after two months on the market with no offers, Colquitt hired an agent. Traffic immediately picked up, and the home sold quickly afterward, he said.

But the experience left Colquitt with some doubts about the process. The agent encouraged him to accept a lowball offer he was not comfortable with, he said. "I felt like in a way that he didn't have our best interest at heart; he was most interested in making a sale quickly," Colquitt said.

Now the stakes are higher as Colquitt, who will soon finish a law degree, plans a move to Dallas for a new job. The big commission is worth the extra work, he said. "It's a lot of money."

Before leaping into the market alone, owners should research a reasonable sales price and get help figuring out what kind of improvements to make, housing experts said. Comparing listing prices isn't enough -- sellers need to take into consideration sales prices, too, although those can take longer to track down.

There are some Web sites that can help determine the proper price, but the seller may still need a dose of reality about how his or her home stacks up against the competition. The seller can hire a home appraiser or use an online appraisal process, said Eric Mangan, spokesman for ForSaleByOwner.com. "The first thing a buyer looks at is the price. If you price it too high, you are going to scare people away; if you price it too low, you may lose money," he said.

Owners also must provide buyers with the proper disclosure forms about things such as lead paint and the home's physical condition. Real estate agents routinely give these to clients, but lawyers have them, too, and they're sold by various Web sites. Local and state governments provide many free. In Virginia, for example, the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation provides forms on its Web site, http://www.dpor.virginia.gov/dporweb/reb_consumer.cfm. In Maryland, some forms are at the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation Web site, at http://www.dllr.state.md.us/forms.

Then there is the advertising: A simple for-sale sign in the lawn will not do. Some packages offered by ForSaleByOwner include the yard signs on top of exposure to many Web sites, including Yahoo, Google and Facebook. Some discount brokerages, such as Mr. Lister, will help homeowners put their listing on a multiple listing service used by real estate agents to search for properties.

Todd Gardner, a graphics designer, took more than a dozen photos of his Arlington condo, creating a virtual tour online. To make sure the listing got maximum exposure, he also paid to be included in a multiple listing service. He plans to advertise in The Washington Post as well as on a couple of Web sites. The first weekend on the market, despite intermittent rain, five potential buyers stopped by for a tour. "For a rainy day, and having it posted for just a day, it was a pretty good" turnout, he said.

But the extra exposure came at a price. Gardner, 46, had to agree to pay a buyer's agent a commission to be included on the multiple listing service. "If it's the right price and right buyer, I am willing to do it," he said.

Gardner said the proceeds from the sale of the condo, which he has rented out for the past six years, will be used to invest in his business and well as his wife's, a vacation cabin rental firm. "We could use those resources to expand our businesses, and our daughters are going to college soon," he said.

For some homeowners selling without an agent, the process can be a challenge. Davis Guthrie, a retired architect, admits some mistakes in his for-sale-by-owner strategy. He listed his two-bedroom Georgetown townhouse in September as home sales were slowing and priced it too high initially. That meant he had to cut the price by more than $250,000, to $919,000.

When he sold his house -- without an agent -- in 2006, it took three weeks and he received three full-price offers. That gave him confidence to try to do it again. But this time the housing market is tougher, and Guthrie's home is still unsold.

Still, Guthrie and his wife, who have retired to Miami, determined that the commission is an expense they cannot afford.

"We lost a whole lot of money in our retirement plan last year. It was a terrible year," he said. "We didn't feel we could give away $50,000 to $60,000 for the commission. We don't have that kind of flexibility anymore."

It has been a time-consuming process, and he has had to adjust his strategy.

The home is in pristine condition, but Guthrie, 65, relies on a neighbor to show the house to potential buyers when he is out of town.

He flies up from Miami most weekends to maintain the home and meet interested buyers.

"We are going to stick with it for another couple of months. If we don't get an offer, we may change strategy," Guthrie said.

The couple has already received an offer to lease the house for a year. But there is another alternative: Guthrie said he has a list of three agents he could call in a pinch.