Set Realistic Price From the Start

If you're considering listing your house and you're serious about selling, you're better off being realistic right from the get-go.

This is according to a New Zealand housing analyst whose study of online buyer habits echoes one done this year in the United States.

Alistair Helm, chief executive of Realestate.co.nz, concluded that a property receives four times as many views in the first week online as it does a week later. His company looked at 1,100 New Zealand properties during a six-week period in July and August.

Helm told the New Zealand Herald that the "most important people in the market" are serious buyers who are searching online every day, and they're fully aware when a home that might meet their needs becomes available.

A few months ago, the online brokerage Redfin.com looked at traffic for listings in multiple markets.

The homes studied had gone on the market early this year and had been for sale at least 60 days, and the listings had been updated — had a price change or some other significant condition change — at least once.

Redfin.com came to the same conclusion: Brand-new listings get four times as many online viewings in that initial week as they do immediately afterward.

If you're fishing for an unrealistic price, you may be blowing it, the company said.