The Wrong Side of a Real Estate Slump

Critical pieces of advice for selling your home in a slowing market:

• Remember: That was then, this is now. Simply forget that your neighbor sold his fixer-upper back in 2004 in three hours for $20,000 above the asking price. The new "normal" is likely to involve making concessions to your buyer, such as price adjustments, home repairs, or help with closing costs.

• Get picky. Invite a brutally honest friend to walk through your home and point out potential turn-offs for buyers. A fresh set of eyes may catch things (the spot on the wall where your three-year-old squashed PlayDoh, for example) that a proud homeowner no longer sees.

• Remove the clutter. Excess stuff is visually distracting, and it creates a bad first impression. Rent a storage unit to house non-essentials while your home is on the market. For just a few hundred dollars, you'll have given your house a mini-makeover that buyers will appreciate.

• Create neutral territory. While you don't have to paint everything white, it does help to tone down unusual color choices and to remove personal items from view (bye bye, Elvis memorabilia!). You want potential buyers to be able to envision themselves in your home, not critique your taste.

• Sweat the small stuff. Repaint, replace fixtures, clean, plant flowers -- in short, do whatever you can do to make your home put its best foot forward to a potential buyer. With a glut of inventory, buyers can afford to be choosy.

• Think on your feet. Sellers need to stay alert in this kind of market. Another house comes on the market in your neighborhood? Ask your agent to visit it and sees how the price and condition compare to yours. Get a lowball offer? Before you turn it down, get the latest comps for your area to see if prices have shifted. Getting traffic in your house but no offers? Make sure your agent is calling other real estate agents for their feedback. Staying on top of your home-selling process is the key to securing a good offer.

While the sellers of today must be made of sterner stuff than in years past, there's no reason to panic. People are still buying, just not with the same wild-eyed intensity of yesteryear. Follow these tips to optimize your position all the way to the closing table.