So how do you know if your home is in the market or out of it? It's really as simple as showings and offers.

If you think you've priced your house right, and you haven't had any showings, the market is telling you that you're "out" of the market.

But what if you've priced it so that you're getting showings, but no offers. Statistics show that if your house has been listed for two weeks with showings but no offers, you're in this area: no buyers' land.

It's in this area that you're attracting the attention of buyers, but you're only helping to sell the house down the street. What's more -- Research shows buyer interest in properties generally declines sharply after the first several weeks. That means that showings without offers in the first two weeks are not only selling the competition—they mean you are going to lose buyer attention quickly in the very time when you need it most. Your goal is to get an acceptable offer early.

So ... if you've got no showings and no offers in two weeks, you're probably out of the market. If you've got showings but no offers, you're closer, and maybe "on" the market, but not close enough to be "in" the market.

Once you've got your house "in" the market, all the tools your real estate professional has can be used to get you the most amount of money, in the least amount of time, with the least amount of hassle. Even in todays market, real estate in the Madison and Chatham NJ area will generally sell quickly if marketed aggressively and price correctly.