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Hamish and Megan Paton of Auckland's North Shore recently sold their first home for $460,000 - and they estimate they would be $17,000 poorer if they had not sold privately.
"We all know how long it takes to earn that much," Hamish told the Herald on Sunday.
"We had a few agents come around and tell us that we would only get early to mid-fours, so I'm glad we did it ourselves."
Hamish, an automotive specialist, and Megan, a stay-at-home mother, invested $995 in a HomeSell kit - which includes signs, internet listings and flyers - to sell their Glenfield home.
The couple ran eight open homes, which they say was probably too many, as Sundays were by far the more popular day.
Would they do it again? "Absolutely. You might get a tiny bit more exposure if you listed with an agent, but that's it."
The couple's main gripe with registered agents is cost: "Perhaps with the property market in New Zealand the way it is, they could look at chopping their fees a little. It is the only industry I can think of where they take more money depending on how much you want to spend.
"I think people are just mad to not try to sell themselves, unless they are desperate."
The hardest part, they said, was negotiating - "having people in the house and trying to haggle over your own home can be a bit hard".
Meanwhile, the Patons have purchased a new property, spending $650,000 on 2.8ha in Paparimu, south of Auckland, which is closer to work.
But Hamish feels sorry for the sellers who sold through an agent.
"I just wish I had told them to list with HomeSell first," he said.
"They would have saved a fortune."
