A veteran broker says the answer is yes, as more sellers and buyers do deals directly.

At 53, Sissy Lappin runs a one-woman brokerage in Houston. Over the course of a 28-year career, she says she's sold more than a half-billion dollars worth of property, from $90,000 bungalows to $9 million mansions. Though her business has been doing well – she sold all 13 of her listings last year  – her outlook on her profession as a whole isn't optimistic, The Wall Street Journal's Julie Fletchert reports.

Shrinking equity has caused consumers to take a hard look at ways to cut transaction costs, particularly the typical 5% or 6% real estate commission, she says. And they've discovered that they can now find all the information they need to list, market, stage, negotiate and close a home sale on the Internet.