There is a video that was put together by a fellow Realtor down in Charlottesville, VA who writes a blog on RealEstateZerbra.com. The video is short and direct without a lot of hoopla and, to some, it may be way too fundamental and elementary - home movie. Click here to take a look.

In fact, I have a nice DVD I lend out to my Seller clients specifically called, "Pricing Your Home to Sell" produced and narrated by David Knox, a long time real estate speaker and trainer. This particular DVD is 20 minutes long and looks a lot nicer with lots of tables and graphs as well as David providing a compelling case for pricing your home competitively to the market.

No matter which video you look at -- the black and white amateur production or the snazzy color DVD -- the message is the same: if you want to sell your home you must price it competitively to the market.

The key phrase is "if you want your home to sell".  If you want to "test" the market to see if you can get a higher price, your home will sit.  If you feel you "need" a higher price for whatever reason, your home will sit. No amount of marketing or advertising will help a home that is priced above what the market is willing to pay for it.

How can you tell what the market price is?  Good question. 

You can consult a professional Realtor who knows the area and can research pricing for similar homes in your immediate area/neighborhood - both those that have sold and those that are on the market now. Or you can spend between $300 - $400 for a professional appraisal.

Neither of these are perfect. Both are preferable to guessing and hoping.  The main thing is to price your home as if you really wanted to sell it. If you don't, it won't.