If you can choose when to sell, it's best to wait until the market is "hot," or a "sellers' market." This can usually be gauged numerically, because the number of available homes drops well below the number of buyers wanting them. Here are some other indicators that the market is good for sellers:

• Mortgage interest rates are low, allowing buyers to finance larger mortgages.
• The economic climate of your region is healthy and people feel confident about the future.
• There's a jump in housebuying activity, as often occurs in the spring.
• Your area is considered especially attractive -- because of the schools, low crime rate, weather, proximity to a major city, or other factors such as employment opportunities.

Of course, not everyone gets to choose when to sell. If the market is down and you have to move immediately -- for example, because of financial reasons, a divorce, a job move, or an imperative health concern -- and you don't have any of the advantages listed above -- you may have to settle for a lower price in order to make a quick sale.

The key thing to setting a price is determining how much your property is actually worth -- called "appraising" a house's value. Because no two houses are alike, it's impossible to predict with absolute certainty what a buyer will pay for yours. However, the best indicator is recent sales prices of comparable properties in your neighborhood ("comps").

Real estate agents have access to local sales data and can give you a good estimate of what your house should sell for. Many real estate agents will offer this service free, in hopes that you will list your house with them. But beware that some agents may estimate a high value for your home, to try and get your listing. Make sure the agent's estimate is based on comparable sales, and ask to see the comparable listings yourself.

To get a ballpark figure on your own, use websites such as www.domania.com or www.zillow.com. By entering your address, you'll be able to pull up sales prices for recently sold homes of the same size as yours in your neighborhood. Of course, these websites can't take into account other important information that affects home values, like improvements and remodeling.

Observing the asking prices of houses still on the market can also provide some guidance. Of course, asking prices don't always reflect what the houses will actually sell for, so you'll need to factor that into your calculations. To find out asking prices, go to open houses, check newspaper real estate classified ads, and look online at sites such as www.realtor.com.

Especially in a competitive market, it's important to list your house at the right price from the beginning. If your house is overpriced, some buyers might not even bother to look, thinking your expectations aren't reasonable and it's not worth it to even negotiate. And the longer your house sits on the market, the more suspicious potential buyers may become that something is "wrong" with it.

Except for a few states where you are required to hire a real estate attorney to do your closing, you do not have to hire an agent or attorney to help you. Beware, however, doing it yourself is a lot of work.

Hiring an agent doesn't necessarily mean that he or she handles all aspects of the transaction and is paid the traditional 5-6% commission. Instead, you might consider hiring an agent to help you out in specific ways, such as advertising your home in the local multiple listing service (MLS) and handling some of the paperwork. For more information, see Do You Need a Real Estate Agent to Sell Your House?

Thanks to the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, many home sellers no longer owe taxes on the gain they make when they sell their houses. Married taxpayers who file jointly now get to keep, tax free, up to $500,000 in gain on the sale of their home, as long as they lived in it for two of the prior five years. Single folks and married taxpayers who file separately get to keep up to $250,000. (See Tax Breaks for Selling Your Home.)