There were more than 600,000 home sales in Canada last year and licensed real estate brokers handled most of those deals. But a growing number of Canadians are choosing to sell on their own.

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), the Ottawa-based group that represents brokers, believes its members account for between 75 and 80 per cent of all resale transactions.

That means an estimated 150,000 homes are sold privately in Canada. Private sales can save thousands of dollars in broker commission fees.

But CTV's David Akin investigated the practice and discovered some of the do-it-yourselfers are getting nasty feedback from the real estate industry.

Shaun and Kathy Shivers had been dissatisfied with their agent's service on their previous home sale four years ago. They had paid $9,000 to agent whom they say didn't advertise, and wasn't even around for the closing.

"We found it very hard to justify that kind of money," Shaun Stivers recalled.

When it came time to sell their latest place, in Oakville, Ont., they decided it would be worth extra time and effort, in order to save as much as $15,000 in broker commissions.

"We thought, why not market it ourselves and see if we can sell it personally," Kathy Shivers said.

It took them most of August to show the home and sell it. During that month, several real estate agents tried to scare them away from doing it themselves. Two or three would show up at each open house, and would tell the Shivers they would never be able to sell on their own.

The CREA doesn't condone that kind behaviour. But the organization is running a new marketing campaign aimed at convincing homeowners to use a realtor.

"We are living in a time when it's more complex to sell a home than it was in the past," CREA president Samir Bashir.

Some research suggests that, even though the broker charges five or six per cent of the selling price, a good agent can help the homeowners receive more for their sale.

James McKellar, a professor of real estate at York University's Schulich School of Business in Toronto, says he wouldn't dream of selling privately. "There's no question that a good broker is worth every penny you pay them."

The Shivers did have some help -- from a website aimed at do-it-yourselfers. There are a growing number of these kinds of companies in Canada, and their services can vary widely. Users need to research the offerings.

The Shivers chose a two-year-old company called Private Real Estate Corp. They paid the group a flat fee and for that, received some lawn signs, a listing in a newspaper published and distributed by Private Real Estate, and a listing in the company's website.

"The Internet is extremely important," said Bryan Lang, Private Real Estate's president. "Without the website, it would make it a lot more difficult to get people to the homes."

Private Real Estate belongs to the Canadian By Owner Network. This network provides on-line links to companies like Private Real Estate across Canada and in the United States.