When Eric Meany bought his U Street-area house in Northwest for $240,000 in 2002, he used a real estate agent to broker the deal. When he sold it for $565,000 in May, after spending about $100,000 in renovations, he worked alone.

“To save a lot money was the total goal,” he said, noting that sellers generally pay a 3 percent commission to their real estate agent and another 3 percent to the buyer’s agent.