Cut the price. Prices are trending down for a number of macro economic reasons. Cut the price a little now, or more later. The carrying cost will eat you alive. "But it's worth.....", is a money pit trap. If you're disposed to selling, sell it before it drops more in price. If it's priced right, it will sell.

I am a buyer in the area and would tell you based on 40 homes we've seen that condition is as important as price. I'm amazed at how many homes we see that either back to a major road, have cheap cabinetry or countertops (nothing says granite like real granite!), cheap woodwork, horrible wallpaper or tons of special different colors of paint and carpet in every room of the house. On top of that many homes are stuffed full of knick-knacks, too much furniture, dirty laundry, really old appliances, dirty carpet and animal smells. If you have an animal in the house you can bet that we smell it and don't like it. We've seen homes with water leaks in the ceiling, siding that is falling off, patios that are sinking, walls that have huge dings all over them and other like problems and each time the real estate listing says "this house gleams" or something equally out of order. We've sold our old home and are anxious to buy but just can't find a house in a nice neighborhood in good condition with a reasonable price. My suggestion would be to ensure you are getting a completely objective walk-through of your home. Just because you find it to be in mint condition doesn't mean a buyer will. If you are getting showings and no offers I would focus first on condition.

RKB-congrats on the sale of your home.

I think you hire a realtor for their expertise. It doesn't hurt to be informed, but you have to trust him or why even have him around? He's trying to work for you , to get your house sold. Would you second guess your doctor or your mechanic and tell him how to do his job? I say either go with your realtor's advice or sell on your own, then you could ask for less since you aren't paying commission.

Your Realtor is a profesional and I'm sure is providing you with SOLD comps to show you what the market is doing in your area. I would recommend that you listen to what he/she has to say about the market. As real estate professionals, we research the solds daily. It does not matter what homes are listed at, whats important what comparable homes are selling for.
Many Sellers are losing money when selling their home. Many are comning to closing with money in order to sell and many sellers are purchasing new homes at a greatly reduced price and making up their loss on the "buy side".
Good Luck!

If two houses are equal, it comes down to price. Supply and demand dictates as inventory increases and sales decrease prices must fall to generate demand.
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There at least two concepts of values in play here – the value you place on the house as a seller and the value placed on the house by a buyer. If the buyer places the same, or higher, value on your property as do you, you have a sale. If not, no sale.
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It’s not the unemployment rate, but the rent vs own ratio. Most realtors in Madison are saying everything is great and there was no bubble, yet prices in Madison seem to have increased 87% over the past ten years?
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I seem to be missing something - you state you are priced well below assessed value, but it appears to be you are priced at assesed value?

"I was in a seminar recently and the first thing the trainer asked was who has listings? Simple question, everyone put up a hand. His next words, they are all overpriced or they would have sold. "

I'm not a realtor, but to me this seems like a gross oversimplification of the selling process, and is solely looking at the situation from the realtor's perspective. There may be a multitude of reasons that a house stays on the market for more than a day or a week or a month, especially in the current market. There is such a huge inventory of houses that you can't realistically expect a house to sell immediately. I don't think it's fair to say that if a house doesn't sell immediately that it has to be overpriced.

If you price a property well below its value, then of course people are going to snap it up quickly. But is that in the best interest of the seller? Sure, the realtor(s) involved get a quicker commission, but the seller may end up needlessly losing valuable equity in their home. If I hire a realtor and agree to pay him a commission to handle the sale of my home, I want him to consider my position and my best interests, not just what is going to net him the quickest sale and move his inventory. Part of the realtor's responsibility is to determine a fair value for the house, and to market it in such a way to demonstrate its features and value.

I have to wonder if this mentality (as described by your trainer) is part of the reason that the housing prices are dropping so dramatically. The media is feeding us all this doom and gloom about the economy, the unemployment rate, gas prices, the housing market. Realtors are using this information to scare sellers into dropping the prices rather than "following the market down." But by doing so, they are actually driving the market down by decreasing the prices. I mean, what recourse would we have if we agreed to sell our house for below what we feel the fair market value is today, and the market rebounds in the next few months? The realtor would still have his commission, and we'd still be soaked. We can't unsell our house and sell it again at a higher price.

The data that is available on this website does not substantiate that the housing market in our area has declined as dramatically as the realtors would have us believe. Realtors have a major role in defining the market prices, and they have an ethical responsibility to do what is fair.

Interesting subject.
If you believe the agent is the professional, then why are you double guessing?

If not, why did you chose him/her?

I was in a seminar recently and the first thing the trainer asked was who has listings? Simple question, everyone put up a hand. His next words, they are all overpriced or they would have sold.

Days on Market are misleading, actually the homes that sell generally sell in 60 days or less. If they don't, they likely will not sell at all.
If you are bringing down the price, you may need a bigger price drop because you have a stale listing and the worst thing is to follow the market down.
Good Luck From the Real estate guy

In this market, the assessed value really has nothing to do with how your home should be priced. The price should be based on an analysis of what price homes in your neighborhood are currently listed at and, more importantly, how much homes are currently selling for. Your realtor is likely aware of these statistics, and that's what her/his advice is based on. Average DOM in your area for 3 bedroom homes is 134 and for 4 bd homes it's 105. I'd go with your realtors professional advice. Good luck!

I would tell you to take your Realtor's advice - after all, she/he knows the market..As far as the other houses listed for sale in your neighborhood above the assessed value, there is a reason why they are still on the market! There are three factors that sell a home - price, location and condition! If you have all three going for you, then your home should sell!