Nail the sale: Britt Skrivanek and Athena Gu

Listing your house below what other homes in the area are selling for is a tough emotional hurdle for many homeowners, especially if neighbors sold their homes for much loftier amounts just six months or a year ago. But with a new development going up just across the road - one that's offering powerful incentives to both buyers and realtors - it's especially important for Skrivanek and Gu to undercut the competition on price.

Yet they can't bring themselves to go that far: Although Riordan and Schweppe's formula suggests a deeper cut, the couple decide to lop $2,000 off their price, bringing it to $161,000. Riordan is pleased that they've lowered the price but worries that the drop won't be quite big enough.

"Sellers still want what their neighbors got two years ago, but that's ancient history in this real estate market," she says. "You have to put aside your emotional attachment to your home and treat the sale like any other business transaction."