As a seller in today's real estate market, you have no doubt been handed a dose of harsh reality. Prices are softer than they were just a year ago, and there are fewer prospective buyers than in recent years.

And if your home is not priced properly, it can sit on the market for months on end. So how can you have the confidence of knowing you are asking an appropriate price for your home?

Here are some ideas to help you avoid over- (or under-) pricing your home:

• It's only natural to talk to several real estate agents when you begin thinking about selling. One of the professional techniques that agents use in marketing themselves is to offer a "free market analysis" of your home. This market analysis typically lists the age and style of your home and compares it to homes similar to yours that are both on the market now and have sold in the past. This analysis often goes into details such as bedroom and bath count, and sometimes square footage.

At the conclusion of the form, the agent renders a "price opinion," providing you with a recommended range for pricing your home. Remember that this is not an appraisal, which is a much more in-depth analysis of your home performed by a state-licensed appraiser.

One trap that many sellers fall into is listing their home with the agent who comes up with the highest recommended listing price. The truth is that some agents are consistently over-optimistic in their price opinions. They believe it's smart to list high, and that a seller can always lower their price later.

While I believe it is smart to know what has sold recently in your neighborhood, I think it is a mistake to put too much emphasis on agent recommendations. And listing with the agent who comes up with the highest recommended listing price is usually a mistake. Instead, I think it makes more sense to select an agent based on their marketing plan, and leave the pricing to a licensed appraiser.

• Another mistake sellers often make is to price their home based on what they need to get out of it.

The problem with that line of reasoning is this: There is no relationship between how much you need in the future and the fair market value of your home today. And I can assure you that your prospective buyer will be unimpressed with your future financial needs as well. Again, all the more reason to rely on an appraiser.

Recognize that, as a seller, time is working against you. There are significant costs to owning your house, and these costs mount up each day that your home does not sell. Remember that you are not only having to pay debt service and taxes, but insurance and utility costs also.

• Once you add up all these monthly expenses and determine what it has cost you to sit on the market for several months, you can see how you would have been better off to start with a lower price in the beginning.

• Another mistake often made by sellers is to avoid the headache of getting their home ready to sell. Their idea is that a buyer will probably want to pick their own paint colors and their own carpeting, so they simply offer an allowance for redecorating.

Unfortunately, that strategy backfires when they attract lowball offers from the few buyers willing to take on a project.

In a buyer's market, it is easier for the buyer to just keep looking for a house in good condition. The bottom line is that you will likely end up selling for less, and still have to pay for the decorating allowance.

• Perhaps the worst strategy for pricing your home in a slow market is to start high, then plan on coming down later if it doesn't sell.

The first problem with that plan is the timing. Agents and buyers are most interested in your home just after it has appeared on the market. As time goes by, agents lose enthusiasm for listings, even if the asking price is adjusted later.

The second problem with starting high is that you might very well exclude prospective buyers who would have been willing to offer an acceptable price, but were scared off by the inflated asking price.

Instead, I believe in having your home appraised by a licensed appraiser.