Multiple homes for sale on same street: increased competition or greater opportunity to sell?

Here's a concern often encountered in a down market, should a property owner be concerned by two or more homes that beet them to the market or not?  While this situation might spell doom and gloom, the savvy seller should see this as a great opportunity. The opportunity comes in the form of leverage.  First more listings on the same street increase buyer traffic and secondly it gives the savvy seller the ability to leverage competing listings to their advantage.  The leverage comes from being able to recognize that price is often the single most important concern to buyers. If those other properties have been on the market for some time, recognize this fact now rather than later. If these other properties are "comparable" then there is no advantage with an asking price at or above those listing. The seller that prices 2~5% below the competition, leverages the competition to assist in their sale, pricing over the competition helps in their sale.  The trick is to realistically identify ones competition, price a smidge below and then to proactively maintain your competitive pricing advantage.