For homeowners, there are thousands of reasons to bypass real estate agents and sell your property yourself. "If you cut out all agents...you would essentially cut out on average about 6 percent of commission," says Greg Healy, vice president of operations at ForSaleByOwner.com, a Web-based company that markets homes for independent sellers. "On a $300,000 home, that's about $18,000 of savings." But despite this huge potential savings, many home sellers—especially in today's tough housing market—feel that a real estate agent's expertise is essential.

The average American has a lot of stuff, and thanks to the holidays and post-holiday sales, most of us just got more.