In the current market slowdown, buyers are taking more time to weigh their options, gather information and make a decision on purchasing a new house.

It’s more important than ever to attract those unhurried buyers by listing a property at the proper price. Otherwise the property can languish while values dip further, forcing the seller to take less money in the end.

“The problem in real estate is that a lot of agents price the listing coming on higher, to get the listing,” said Dick Cahill, president of Jack Conway Realty. “But they’re creating financial agony for the lister when they do that. It becomes extremely important [in a down market] that you don’t overprice it coming into the market. It’s financial disaster, and the owner is bleeding to death all over the marketplace when you do.”

Cahill said he has been conducting case studies and pricing seminars at his offices to improve the pricing practices, and to move properties quicker.

When asked if the new seminars signaled a deficiency at Jack Conway Realty, Cahill quickly said no.

“We’re educating and presenting a marketing strategy that includes pricing that is deadly accurate, so that [the listings] can sell,” Cahill said. “Buyers are looking for value, they’re not looking to overpay for anything today.”

Half of the battle in pricing a listing correctly is educating the seller about the current market conditions.

“The psychology is tough,” said David Friedberg, vice president and sales manager of Coldwell Banker in Brookline. “People hold on. People don’t let go of what they think is [their home’s value].

Friedberg said his office dusted off its “equity preservation” plan about a year ago, which had been in storage since the early ’90s. Previously, agents could get away with “aggressive” pricing, because the market would often rise to the price eventually.

“At times like this, [proper pricing] is probably more critical,” Friedberg said. “In a downward slope, you don’t want to be chasing down the price; you want to get ahead of it.”

Anita Hill, a Realtor and owner of Anita Hill Training and Seminars in Methuen, said with so much information available to buyers, higher-priced properties will be held up to much more intense scrutiny. If a property is priced too high it will get passed over, or worse, used as a comparison to sell a better-priced house.

Hill said a better–priced property often fetches more money anyway, since several buyers make bids on the house.

“The more realistic they are to pricing it to the market, often times the better the price they’ll get,” Hill said.

Hill said it’s up to the agent to educate the seller on market data and understand the seller’s needs and goals. If a seller is trying to trade up, that dictates one strategy. They want to maximize the value of their current home while they look for their next.

If a seller is trying to get out of a property they can no longer afford, that’s another strategy altogether. It’s likely better to price the property to move, so the seller can buy something smaller and more reasonable.

Some sellers are so stuck on their price that Realtors can’t sway them. Cahill’s answer to that is: don’t bother taking the listing.

“There is no point on advertising a house in the papers, or having open houses, and having people walk in and walk out because the house isn’t priced right,” Cahill said. “What’s the sense of wasting everybody’s time, and creating a situation where everyone is upset?”