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Jennifer and Jon Berry, both teachers, decided to sell their condo in Ballwin. But instead of using an agent, the couple turned to a small but growing segment of the real estate market: for sale by owner, or FSBO.

The Berrys, like others in this market, hope to sell their home without paying the 5, 6 or even 7 percent commission a real estate agent would collect.

They think they can do a better job.

"We want to move our property quickly, and (without the commission) we can price it lower," she said.

Saving thousands of dollars has long been an incentive for those trying to unload property on their own. And even more owners, frustrated by the unfavorable real estate market, are taking this route.

But even advocates say selling your own home isn’t for the faint-hearted. Overpricing, the lack of marketing resources and the paperwork can hamper a deal.

For every seven homes offered for sale by the owner nationwide, five eventually become listed with a Realtor, one falls off the market and one finally sells, said Steve Rosenfeld. He’s the St. Louis representative for homesbyowner.com, a website for FSBOs nationwide.

That doesn’t worry the Berrys. Last month, they put up a "For Sale By Owner" sign outside the condo in the 1000 block of Claytonbrook Court and listed the property on a website catering to these type of sales.

Since then, they’ve held open houses on three weekends. The Berrys got one offer they rejected as far below the $169,000 asking price for the condo, which has three bedrooms and a fireplace.

Even though a real estate agent called and offered to lower the commission to sell the condo, the couple plans to stick with the strategy because they are under no financial pressure to unload their home, Jennifer Berry said.

Though solid numbers are hard to come by, at least 1,000 residences are for sale by owners on the Missouri side of the St. Louis area.

That’s up about 2 percent from a year ago, according figures compiled by Rosenfeld.

While a small increase, the growth stands in stark contrast to a plunge in the homes listed with a Realtor on the Missouri side of the metro area. Home listings fell about 14 percent from a year ago. Metro East figures weren’t available.

Still, owner sales remain a small sliver of the residential real estate market. About 14,000 area homes are currently listed with a Realtor.

The most common mistake owners make is asking too much for their homes, said Kevin Cottrell, principal at Cottrell Realty Group in Chesterfield.

Overpricing isn’t surprising given a homeowner’s lack of knowledge about the area market and conditions, according to experts.

"The No. 1 challenge … is that 95 percent of the time they are overpriced," said Cottrell.

It still remains a buyer’s market. Prices dropped two weeks ago on 500 of the 4,600 St. Louis County homes listed with a real estate agent, he added.

Many FSBO sales never get closed because the appraisal shows the homes are worth less than a buyer has agreed to pay, Cottrell said.

Yet the option is tempting to cash-strapped homeowners. Many owners selling their own property are "underwater" on their mortgages — the bust pushed the market value below the loan amount — or, more often than not, facing short sales, that is, selling at a loss to avoid foreclosure, according to industry observers.

Pricing isn’t the only problem. Others include the amount and complexity of paperwork, and the lack of free access to a multi-list real estate service, or MLS, which provides a centralized listing of homes for sale..

An owner can improve the odds by paying for a listing. Greg Abel, an area real estate broker who runs the website soldbyme.com, charges such sellers a one-time fee of $399 to put their homes on the MLS.

Still, sales by owners continue to be a small part of the market given the difficulties.

"Most of the time when (a FSBO sale) does occur, it’s to a family member or a friend. That makes it something other than an arm’s length transaction to begin with," Rosenfeld said.

Despite the difficulties, some people make a living by specializing in these type of sales. Among them is Bill Lenich, 59, of west St. Louis County. He buys foreclosed rentals and fixer-uppers in St. Louis and St. Charles counties, repairs them and sells them.

Lenich looks for properties he can pick up for about $80,000 and then sell for $150,000 after he invests $30,000 in new appliances, furnaces, air conditioning, hot-water heaters and other improvements.

The commission only reduces his profit.

"That (slice) of 150 thousand bucks is a lot of money," he said.

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