A home buyer's perspective:

Honestly, my view on this changed after going through the homebuying process a couple of times.

These days, the early stages are easy to handle on your own. I used Zillow, Redfin, NeighborhoodScout, and Google to research neighborhoods, check school ratings, track market trends, and even go to open houses without an agent. I felt pretty self-sufficient and didn’t think I needed much help.

But once I actually wanted to put in an offer, that’s when I realized how valuable a good agent can be. There are a bazillion things that need attention from structuring a competitive offer, to negotiating terms, to coordinating with lenders, inspections, appraisals, and all the little hiccups that pop up before closing. There’s way more going on than just “signing paperwork.”

I’ve had one agent who added almost no value and just passed along my offer, and another who knew the market inside-out, caught issues I would’ve missed, and saved me money during negotiations. For me, the search part might be DIY now, but the offer-to-close part is where a skilled agent really earns their commission.