Every seller wants the best possible price and terms for their property. The amount a seller can receive from the sale of their property depends on several factors, including market conditions, interest rates, and the condition of the property. The idea is to get the maximum price and the best terms during the window of time when your home is on the market. Selling a property is part science, part marketing, part negotiation, and part finesse.

All real estate transactions are different, and because of this, you should do as much as possible to prepare your home for sale and engage the Realtor you feel is best able to sell your home.

Determining your properties value - The value of your home relates to local sale prices; the same home, located elsewhere, would likely have a different value. Sale prices are a product of supply and demand, if you live in a community with an expanding job base, a growing population and a limited housing supply, it's likely that prices will rise. Alternatively, if the local community is losing jobs and people are moving away from the area, then you'll likely have a buyer's market.

Owner needs can impact sale values. If owner Smith "must" sell quickly, he will have less leverage in the marketplace. Buyers may think that Smith is willing to trade a quick closing for a lower price -- and they may be right. If Smith has no incentive to sell quickly, he may have more marketplace strength.

Sale prices are not based on what owners "need." When an owner says, "I must sell for $300,000 because I need $100,000 in cash to buy my next home," buyers will quickly ask if $300,000 is a reasonable price for the property. If similar homes in the same community are selling for $250,000, the seller will not be successful.

Additional factors to consider - Because all transactions are unique, there is flexibility in the marketplace. The amount of flexibility depends on local conditions. For example, suppose you're selling a townhouse, and there have been five recent sales of the model you own and those sale values have ranged from $200,000 to $210,000. You now have an idea of how your home should be priced. In a strong market perhaps you can ask for $210,000 or a little more. If the market has slowed, $210,000 may be a reasonable asking price, but perhaps more than the final sale price.

Here's another scenario; imagine that you live in a community of Victorian-style homes, most of which were built in the 1920s. All the homes are different in terms of size, condition, modernization, style and features. In such a neighborhood, an average sale price is just a statistic without much practical meaning. On a single block one home may sell for $400,000 while another is priced at more than $1 million. The average price may be outrageously high for one home and staggeringly low for another.