Despite the emerging nationwide real estate recovery, many condominium apartments continue to languish unsold. Older condos and those in outer-tier suburbs can be especially hard to sell, says Mary McCall, president of the Council of Residential Specialists (www.crs.com).

"People definitely want to buy condos. But with all the foreclosures and short sales of the past, it can still be very hard to get a mortgage to buy a condo in some areas," says McCall, a veteran real estate broker.

"Since the bubble burst on real estate, condo prices have become affordable in a lot of areas. But in many cases, you must still have stellar credit or a big down payment to buy a condo, unless you can make an all-cash offer. The trouble is most buyers don't have those financial advantages," McCall says.

Helping to balance out the problem of slow-selling condos is a lively interest in condo buying among investors seeking to own bargain-priced units they can convert into rental properties.

Another bright spot for condo sales involves condos in pedestrian-friendly city neighborhoods and town centers.

Here are a few pointers for would-be condo sellers and their listing agents:

-- Make sure your unit is priced right from the outset.

Is the condo you're planning to sell located in an area with much new construction? If so, you'll need to take this reality into account when setting your price.

"If you try to push your price in an over-built area, your unit will just sit there," says Mark Nash, a real estate broker and author of "1001 Tips for Buying & Selling a Home."

Owners seeking to sell in a complex with many look-alike condos should make doubly sure their listing agent does a conscientious review of other properties that have sold during the prior six months. These are called "comparables," or "comps," and they should give sellers a reasonable idea of the price their unit will command.

-- Ask for a "broker's open" for agents throughout your area.

Of course, not all condos are tough to sell. Every region has neighborhoods that are consistently popular, says Dorcas Helfant, former president of the National Association of Realtors (www.realtor.org).

"There are always niche condo markets with special cachet and almost no turnover," Helfant says. She says these include complexes in popular metropolitan centers, along with those that feature extraordinary views or beach access.

But even if your condo is located in a building where demand is steady, you'll want to ensure that it comes to the attention of serious buyers. That way you increase your odds of getting a strong bid or even multiple offers.

To compete with rival units in your complex, Helfant recommends you ask your listing agent to stage one or more "brokers' opens" at your condo. These are open houses to which real estate agents throughout your general area are invited. They typically feature food, entertainment or both.

"If your condo looks great and gets exposed to many agents, they'll spread the word and bring their clients by," Nash says.

As he notes, brokers' opens can be especially valuable to sellers in condo buildings where the supply of unsold units exceeds buyer demand.

"Most buyers trust their agents. If the agent likes a condo and knows it shows well, he's more likely to recommend a showing to his clients, and the clients will agree to visit. You want such serious buyers coming through, not just the kind of curiosity seekers who often visit public open houses," Nash says.

-- Make your kitchen more appealing.

Older condos often have small, galley-style kitchens. But that doesn't mean they can't be given the sort of spark that will set them apart.

"If you're selling a unit with a dated kitchen, you may need to spend a few thousand dollars to improve it. Often you can add great buzzwords to your listing with new appliances or countertops," Nash says.

Due to declining prices, granite countertops suitable for a small kitchen are now available for less than $3,000, according to Nash, though he says an increasing number of buyers are now expressing a preference for such solid surfaces as Corian, which is thought to be easier to maintain than granite.

For roughly the same sum, you can have a set of new appliances installed. Nash says that stainless steel appliances are still popular, though white appliances (and kitchen cabinets) are gaining favor with buyers of all ages.

-- Consider tangible incentives to increase buyer interest.

Some in the real estate field consider it crass for sellers to offer tangible incentives. But buyers who have an array of well-priced options in the same condo complex might pick a unit offered with such extras.

For instance, Nash says you might choose to give those who buy your condo a new iPad, a large plasma TV or a surround-sound stereo system. Or you could give them supermarket gift certificates for several months' worth of food.

"The freebies really work, I've seen it happen. But remember that freebies are no substitute for making your condo look wonderful and pricing it right," Nash says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)

Real estate experts call them "leftover houses." They're available properties in well-regarded neighborhoods -- But while other homes fly off the market, they sit unsold, seemingly indefinitely.

"These oddballs are sitting because they don't speak to any buyers," says Mark Nash, a long-time real estate broker and the author of "1001 Tips for Buying & Selling a Home."

Sometimes the reason a home languishes is due to what real estate people refer to as an "incurable problem."

"Maybe your home is a white elephant because it's a contemporary in a sea of traditional houses. Or maybe it backs to a McDonald's," Nash says.

But other more common explanations are that the property was overpriced when it hit the market or that it badly needs to be cleaned, repaired or redecorated.

A strong listing agent will help clients by providing an itemized list of repairs and upgrades needed to make a property saleable. And if they're wise, the home's owners will follow this guidance, without taking personal offense.

Unfortunately, some homeowners are oblivious to the reasons their property isn't selling, and their listing agent may be too tactful to outline all the corrections needed.

"In its own way, the market screams out reasons why a house doesn't sell. But the owners just aren't listening," Nash says.

Here are a few pointers for home sellers:

-- Look into hiring a "stager" to make your place more appealing.

Even a house that's been well kept in terms of the basics can be held back because of an outdated decor or excessive clutter.

The cost of hiring a professional stager for a full level of services can run $500 or more -- a stretch for sellers struggling to score a low-cost sale. But the expenditure could be well worth it.

"Stagers can warm up a house and make it feel a whole lot better to visitors," Nash says.

He says one way to find a skillful stager is through relatives, work associates or friends who've recently sold a home. Another way is by visiting the website of the Real Estate Staging Association (www.realestatestagingassociation.com).

Look for stagers in your area and -- before giving them a call -- be sure to check out their websites for examples of their work.

-- Plan a home-selling party with friends.

After it's gone unsold for a lengthy period, the excitement that may have accompanied your home's debut has likely drained away.

"Bad house karma sets in and you have to reverse the situation fast," Nash says.

To do so, he says one idea is to call in friends for a home-selling party.

"Your friends will probably tell you, in a way that's not insulting, the main reasons your home isn't selling and what to do about it," Nash says.

"It's a really strange thing how people can sometimes get the buzz going again about their house. Then all of a sudden an offer -- or maybe even two -- come in unexpectedly," Nash says.

-- Update your online photos.

Ashley Richardson, a real estate agent affiliated with the Council of Residential Specialists (www.crs.com), says it's critical for all home sellers to have very good photos of their property on the Internet.

"Nowadays, buyers look at photos of 15 homes for every one they visit in person," Richardson says.

One advantage of using fresh pictures of your property is that you can replace out-of-season photos with those that look current.

"Don't use photos taken with a cellphone. Your listing agent should have a top-quality camera and the skills to take pictures," Richardson says.

-- Tell your listing agent to burn up the phone lines with calls about your home.

In these days of fussy purchasers, the well-honed marketing skills of an experienced listing agent are more important than ever.

One key marketing skill your listing agent can use is to "talk up" your place to other real estate agents with home-buying clients of their own, says Lisa Atkinson, an agent whose specialties include short sales and marketing foreclosed properties.

"When I list a house, I push hard to bring it to the attention of other agents. The more agents who know about it, the more showings," she says.

Many listing agents make calls to promote a property when it first goes on the market. But Atkinson says they can also use networking techniques to rekindle interest in a place that's been sitting unsold for a lengthy period.

-- Give your home the beauty of blooms.

It's a lovely touch to have fresh-cut flowers on display throughout your home's interior. But Michelle Minch, who heads a home staging firm called Moving Mountains Design, says the need to repeatedly replace cut flowers for the length of the showing period is unaffordable for many sellers.

One less pricey option -- especially easy during the summer months -- is to display flowering, potted plants indoors and also to install such blooms in your outdoor gardens, or in front of your place.

"Potted orchids are a very elegant indoor choice, and you can now find them reasonably priced in grocery stores," Minch says.

Why do bountiful blooms help sell a home that's starved for attention? Minch says that for prospective buyers, flowers hint at happier, more gracious living.

"When you're selling a home, you're selling an aspiration for a better lifestyle. Everybody likes to think that once they buy that next home they'll be living like Martha Stewart," Minch says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)

Though a real estate recovery is underway, home prices still aren't back to their pre-2007 levels in many neighborhoods. Even so, many young families worry it's already too late to buy that starter home in a nice suburb with good schools.

"Buyers hung around waiting for the right moment to get into the market. But that moment seemed to come and go in a heartbeat," says Karl Case, a home values expert and senior fellow at Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies.

Not only are prices on the rise in many desirable areas, inventories are also tight. These dual factors make it doubly frustrating for frugal buyers who now must compete with others for coveted properties.

Along with rising housing prices, young families are already trying to cope with high living costs for other basics, from child care to food and gas. But Case says it's not too late for most young homebuyers to make a good property purchase.

Case says it's pointless for would-be homebuyers who missed the bottom of the market in their chosen area to focus on the past.

Rather than obsessing about not having bought at an earlier point in the cycle, Case advises first-time buyers to move forward and think strategically. Here are a few pointers:

-- Consider an "overpriced" home.

Young homebuyers (and even veteran buyers) can overlook an important fact about real estate: You can sometimes get the best deals on homes that were significantly overpriced at the outset.

Barry Nystedt, a real estate broker and former president of the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (www.naeba.org), says the secret to shopping among overpriced properties is to be the first to know when price cuts occur.

"Sometimes people overprice because of ego, but mostly they do so because of ignorance of the market. Eventually, after their property has been sitting unsold for a lengthy period, they get worn down. That's when they drop their price and start to negotiate seriously," Nystedt says.

"Through the years, I've gotten some very good deals for clients after price reductions have occurred," Nystedt recalls.

-- Include out-of-style properties in your search.

First-time buyers may wish to consider a category of properties a notch above fixer-uppers: what agents call "cosmetically challenged" properties. These homes are well kept and the fundamentals, including electricity and plumbing, all work. But their owners have neglected the interior decor. Because of that, they're often sold below market value.

As Nystedt notes, many longtime owners of solid family houses never redo their tired, fraying, out-of-date interiors.

"But if the house has good bones and you get a favorable price on it, it will pay you to strip that old wallpaper, pull up the carpet and refinish the hardwood floors beneath," Nystedt says.

But he cautions that homebuyers should be careful to distinguish between outdated homes and those with serious underlying issues.

He urges anyone buying a home, especially money-conscious young families, to make their purchase conditional on a thorough home inspection to ensure the place doesn't have fundamental flaws such as structural problems. These are much more costly to fix than a dated living room.

-- Search for highly motivated sellers.

For home-sellers, time is money. People who must move quickly, perhaps due to job relocation or a marital breakup, are typically more willing to let their property go for a reasonable price than those who can hold out.

You needn't do anything unethical to find out what motivates the owners of a home that interests you. Often, the listing agent will answer direct questions about the sellers' motivations.

"The real estate business is based on relationships. Agents talk to each other, and your agent might hear from the listing agent that the owners of a property you like are eager for an immediate offer," Nystedt says.

He says owners who've accepted an out-of-state job transfer are usually the most willing to negotiate, particularly if their property is already vacant or has been taken over by a relocation company.

"'Relo' companies aren't emotional sellers. They'll often cut to the chase to sell the property as soon as possible," Nystedt says.

-- Exercise caution about taking a non-traditional mortgage.

It's no secret that with mortgage rates hovering around historic lows, most homebuyers are opting for a traditional 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. Still, some first-time purchasers facing an affordability pinch are now considering non-traditional mortgage alternatives, according to Dale Robyn Siegel, a veteran mortgage broker who heads her own firm.

Siegel, author of "The New Rules for Mortgages," says one budget-stretching alternative to a fixed-rate loan is a "hybrid" that guarantees a constant interest rate for 10 years before converting into an adjustable rate mortgage that changes annually.

"I wouldn't go with any hybrid that converts to an ARM after just five to seven years. Interest rates are bound to rise in the next few years, and you may wind up staying in your house longer than expected. The reality is that life could get in the way of your best-laid plans," Siegel says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)