Bob Arris, Realtor

Finish the "honey do" list
Just about every homeowner has a string of little repairs that never quite get done. Now's the time. Fix the screens, oil that squeak, patch the cracks, paint the trim. Stuff that you've long since stopped noticing could be shouting "Deferred maintenance!" to every potential buyer.
Get inspected
A pre-sale inspection can help in two ways. Professional inspections can identify problems that could thwart a sale in time to fix them. And if there are no major problems, he said, an inspection can publicize that fact to skittish buyers.
Pack up the clutter
Clutter eats equity. Too much stuff makes rooms look smaller and focuses buyers' attention on your possessions rather than the home you're trying to sell. That's why many professional stagers recommend removing as much as a third of your things to better show off rooms and closets. Buyers can't imagine themselves living there if they can't see the space.
Depersonalize and neutralize
The first items that should go in those packing boxes: family photos, collections and just about anything else that says "you." Streamline your artwork and consider toning down bold decorating statements. That means neutral shades if you need to repaint walls or replace carpets. Buyers have a hard enough time envisioning how their stuff will look on your walls. By neutralizing your decor, you can help give them the blank canvas they need to imagine your house as theirs.
Clean like a fiend
Q-Tip clean: cotton swab the faucets and fixtures, scour fingerprints from all the switch plates, shine the windows until they're spotless and vacuum every last dog hair from the baseboards. You should be able to eat off the kitchen floor, the bathroom floor. You'll need to banish suspect smells as well; you don't want your house to become known in real-estate circles as "the cat pee place." If your pets have had one too many accidents, you may need to replace the affected carpet and padding and have the underlying floor sealed. If you're not sure how your place smells, get your least tactful friend to take a few whiffs and tell you the honest truth.
Stage the rooms
Stand in the doorway to find each room's focal point, and use furniture placement to highlight that. The back of your sofa shouldn't block the view of the fireplace, for example, and the dining room table shouldn't be sharing space with a stair climber. You should remove any extraneous pieces of furniture, but you may be able to "repurpose" them in another room. A wingback chair that's crowding the family room might help create a nice reading nook in the master bedroom.
Tend to the floors
Keeping them spotless won't help if they're dated, worn or impossibly stained. You shouldn't spend a fortune installing hardwood or tile, though, since you're unlikely to recoup the cost. Look for compromises that can improve the home's appearance without busting your wallet. If the damage to a tile floor is limited, for instance, replacing a few tiles and regrouting might do the trick. If it's extensive, replace the floor with high-quality vinyl as a more cost-effective option. Carpets should be steam-cleaned to see if they're salvageable. If not, you may be able to reduce the costs of replacement by offering to do some of the work, such as removing the old carpet and moving furniture.
Kick up the curb appeal
By now, you probably realize the garden gnomes are a no-no. But you may not realize how many sales you're losing before potential buyers even get to the front door. Most people will start their search for a home on the Internet. If your house's Internet photo doesn't 'wow!' them, they might never call for a showing. That's why your front landscaping needs to be in perfect condition. Given the pressure to make a good first impression, you'll need to do more than trim back the hedges and plant a few pansies. Hire a professional landscaper to clean up the leaves, plant some fall flowers, trim the bushes and trees, and really manicure your lawn. If your front walkway is cracked, now might be the time to replace it.
Pick the right agent
If you're working with an agent, you'll want one who can really sell. That means somebody who knows your neighborhood intimately and who's enthusiastic about your home. That also means someone other agents want to work with; someone who's too abrasive or who isn't trustworthy won't help your cause. If you're going to try to sell your home yourself, make sure you're up for the job. Hawking a home, especially in a slowing market, can be hard work.
Set the right price
In frenzied markets, sellers who put outrageous price tags on their homes sometimes are rewarded. As markets cool, however, a too-high asking price can lead to a home being shunned by agents and buyers. A seller may think she's just testing the market, assuming buyers will at least make an offer, but buyers may assume she's unreasonable and move on. Your goal should be a fair price -- something that's reasonable given the price of other homes in your area. Buyers who are actively searching for a fairly-priced home will pounce on what they perceive is fair value.