I feel the major issue with taking professional representation out of the equation is that the parties enter a "gray" area.
This gray area is filled with mostly emotion, and very little logic. I think this is because sellers obviously have a deep connection with their home, and have the tendency to have their decisions motivated by their emotions at the time.
Buyers are constantly at the will of the ebb and flow that media injects to the masses through fear. Fear of a housing bubble, fear of a economy crash, or even fear that they are missing out on a good deal when times are great. Let alone being one of the biggest investments most families make, in my experience a buyer is quick to resort to emotions to make decisions as well.
In comes the agent. Having a real estate agent represent you brings both parties to reason with logic during negotiations, while also providing a "go-to man" in the event legal issues arise after the purchase. Coupled with the localization of real estate markets (which won't be changing any time soon), I feel the only reason anyone would
think of losing the agents is because of "here-say" or hype.
Talk to anyone that has a great agent and see if they'd ever make a move without them.
