Even though the market is starting to change, it doesn't mean that you should shy away from selling your home yourself. It just means that you need to be more vigilant in learning the tips and tricks on how to sell your home and get what you want out of it without having to pay high commission fees. Here are some tips that can get you educated in the sale of your own home so you're not left with months or more or waiting to see if you can sell it.

The real estate boom in the United States over the past few years was felt extremely in South Florida. The market exploded there with the turn of the millennium, and some areas shot up in value from 200 to 250 percent. The boom not only shifted the values of the homes up, but also allowed the economic platform in the area to change with it, including new businesses opening up, which opened up new job opportunities, which subsequently allowed more money to be made.

But now that the boom has ended, and the sales are slowing down in the area, along with the tapering off of rising housing prices, where does that leave South Florida in the way of not only the real estate market, but the economy as a whole? Turnaround on houses that used to take a week now are sitting for months unsold.

As many different areas around the United States have gone through, there has been an amount of over construction in the South Florida area. This has led to a greater supply over the demand, and this may cause some bankruptcies with home builders who cannot sell what they have built, and even some banks around the area.

Even in the downturn of the real estate market, speculators are hopeful that they can score some good housing bargains on properties, and are securing funds to do just that. However, these investors are staying away from areas like downtown Miami because of the abundance of investors in that area. Over the next year or so, as the market corrects itself and begins a normal pace, we will see just how the market affects the area of South Florida economically.

The Austin Board of Realtors was recently cited by the FTC for how they run their multiple listing service, stating that a policy by the Board to bar certain homes from search engines on the web are against federal antitrust laws.

In the spring of 2005, the Board made a rule that only listings on the MLS with exclusive right to sell agreement would be able to be made publicly searchable. This rule basically provides the seller's real estate agent with a commission regardless of how the buyer was lined up, either through the seller's means or the agent's means. Since the MLS in Austin is the top company in the market, this makes it nearly impossible for sellers to get listed without being held back by the right to sell agreement.

The FTC unanimously voted against this rule change, and came up with a settlement agreement that requires the Board of Realtors in Austin to remove this rule out of their policy, or they would have to pay out a fine of $11,000 for each subsequent infraction.

The FTC also reported that they are looking into other cities with similar MLS rules to try and get those reversed as well, but currently do not have a list of targets.