With real estate prices rising across the country, the so-called average real estate agent's commission of "about 6%" can cost you upwards of $10,000. Wouldn't you like to find a way to keep some of that money in your own pocket?

The obvious answer is to sell your house yourself, and the Internet has made that easier than ever. Web sites devoted to FSBO (for sale by owner) homes allow owners to list their homes on sites that are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For a single price, or even for free, you can post pictures of your house on your own web site, be entered into their search engine to come up when buyers search for a house in your area and take advantage of special perks like virtual tours and professional For Sale signs.

But selling on your own can be difficult and frustrating. Without the guidance of a professional who knows the business of selling houses, you may find yourself feeling uncertain about your home selling strategies, or make mistakes in pricing or listing. What if there was a way to pay a Realtor less?

There is a way. In fact, there are quite a few ways. One of the little known secrets about selling your home is that your Realtor's commission is negotiable. While the 'standard' commission is often reported as 6% to 7% of your home's selling price, the actual commission paid by buyers is often much less. There are a number of different ways of finding discount realty savings, or working with discount Realtors.

One of the handiest little tools that I've found on the Internet is the Commission Calculator at (www.homegain.com). Simply enter the estimated selling price of your home, choose the state that you live in, and submit. Within seconds, you'll get the average commission paid out on home sales in that area. The results are interesting. In Massachusetts, for instance, where the average price of a home is $200,000 to $250,000, the average broker's commission in a recent month was only 5.1% - nearly a full percent below the 'standard' commission, for a discount realty deal that saves the seller over $2,200.

You've probably been told that one of the best ways to get your home sold is to get it listed on the Multiple Listing Service by a Realtor. It's even hinted sometimes that you'll have a great deal of trouble selling your house without an MLS listing. In order to get a listing on the MLS, you MUST be represented by a licensed Realtor.

A popular discount realtor service is a 'flat fee listing' on the MLS. Why pay a full commission to a Realtor if all you really want is to get your house listed where it will have high visibility? Instead of engaging a realtor to market and show your home for you, you pay a discount Realtor a single flat fee for the single service of placing your home on the Multiple Listing Service, and reserve the right to sell your home on your own without paying any commission at all.