After Elvis, the Kennedy assassination, and the Pearl Harbor attack, real estate has got to be next on the list for containing the most myths and misinformation. Even in a hot market like we've been having, there are still some fundamental truths, prominent among them being that somewhere out there is a buyer who will pay the most for your home which, all else being equal, is the buyer you want. The way to find him is NOT to a) stick a sign in your front yard, b) have your agent bring you a buyer the first day, c) sign up with a discount brokerage, d) try to sell it yourself and advertise til you're in Chapter 11, e) sign up with an out-of-the-area agent, or f) hold open house, or any combination of the above.

Even in a hot market, the best way to get top dollar for your home is to have your agent put it on the Multiple Listing Service at a sane price, period. While most agents do the other stuff, the candid among them will tell you that, in any market, it is mostly window dressing, the main benefit accruing to the agent in attracting new business. If your prospective agent recommends that you hold your property off the MLS for 1-2 weeks, he's got another agenda, and it ain't yours.

Especially in a hot market, buyers are all working with agents so they won't miss anything. There is a backlog of agents with qualified buyers who have seen everything else, and those agents descend upon any new listing like something out of an Alfred Hitchcock movie. If it meets their buyer's criteria, they're dialing their cell phone before they're out the front door. The odds are overwhelming that one of those buyers is the best one for your house. By the way, you find out how good your agent is after you get offers, and probably not before.

Now, I don't know about Elvis or Kennedy, but there is not a scrap of evidence that FDR knew the Japanese were going to attack Pearl Harbor, so we can lay that one to rest.