Vital to the process many agents think they are. I'd say if you are selling a house for $500k or less, and are willing to do ~10 to 15 total hours of work (market analysis, cleaning, pictures, staging, open house, etc) you probably don't need an agent to help you sell your house. Especially in this market. And if you use one on the buyers side, make sure to get one that does more than open doors for you!