Holden Lewis writes for Bankrate.com. "House prices are falling in much of the country, and more than 4 million dwellings are on the market. That's bad news for sellers, because buyers feel free to make lowball offers and then just wait. It's a buyer's market, but don't despair."

"You can increase your chances of selling your house in a reasonable time by following a few good guidelines. First, play the cards you're dealt. A successful home sale begins before the house is listed, when you decide not to expect to make a killing."

"'All you can do in a falling market, if you have to sell, is have the best possible product out there at the price it should be,' says Diane Saatchi, an agent with Corcoran Group on Long Island, N.Y. 'Not what you wish you could get, not what the neighbor got two years ago, but at the price you should get now. That's the reality.'"

"For many sellers, 'the only disappointment is that their friend, six months or a year ago, got more than they're getting,' says Bill Christiano, a loan officer in Westchester, N.Y. 'Ego gets in the way when they're trying to sell. Or stubbornness, I should say.'"

"Offer incentives. Besides a low price, incentives for buyers include paying discount points to lower the mortgage rate, paying closing costs or providing flexibility about the move-in date."

"And most important, price realistically. 'Don't get greedy,' says Pam O'Connor, CEO of a network of 650 regional and independent brokers. 'Just because it went up to some astronomical value and it went down from there, you have to be realistic that there has been moderation in the market.'"

"It takes research, often conducted by a real estate agent, to come up with a realistic asking price, and discipline to abide by it. 'It's not enough just to throw out a figure,' says Mario Villena, vice president a Miami-based online real estate brokerage."

"Using tools on sites such as HomeKeys, Zillow and Redfin, buyers can get an idea of your house's market value. You and your agent can't bamboozle buyers because they have so much information about comparable house values."

"Villena suggests asking for just 3 percent to 5 percent more than you realistically expect to get. Setting an aggressive asking price attracts more prospective buyers to your door, discourages lowball offers and saves negotiating time. 'You'll know fairly quickly whether they're willing to meet you or not,' Villena says."

"In a market where prices are falling, asking prices must fall, too, 'which is a whole new concept for sellers right now,' Saatchi says. For example, if the Smiths sold their house early this year for $700,000, you might have to ask just $695,000."

"An agent has to have tact to break the news, Saatchi says: 'When we tell our clients this, they think we are the devil.'"