Some of the happiest of childhood memories can be linked to growing up in a community with friendly people. But sometimes those seeking to find a home in a family-friendly place are disappointed, says Diana Leafe Christian, the author of "Finding Community."

"Community-seekers need to know how to avoid the common blunders that well-meaning but inexperienced people can make when first visiting and joining communities," says Christian, an advocate for intentional communities, which are organized from the outset to give residents a high level of social interaction and mutual support.

Mark Nash, a long-time real estate broker and author of "1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home," says many buyers mistakenly believe a suburban community with high-end houses will necessarily give them a warm, welcoming place to live.

"You could locate your family in a so-called 'nice neighborhood' only to discover that people there have no time to talk because they travel a lot, have high-powered jobs and put their kids in private schools rather than neighborhood schools," Nash says.

There's no simple formula for finding a family-friendly neighborhood. But Nash urges homebuyers to investigate thoroughly before making a purchase. Here are a few pointers:

-- Consider buying in a brand-new subdivision.

Would you like to live in a development of freshly built new homes yet fear it would be an unfriendly place to raise your family? If so, Nash suggests you learn more about the development before automatically rejecting it based on what could be an unfounded belief.

Granted, brand-new communities with moderately priced homes are often populated by many two-income families with parents who have demanding daily schedules. Still, many who move to these new areas are highly motivated to build lasting friendships with neighbors who also have kids and would like to share childcare responsibilities.

"One huge plus for a brand-new neighborhood is that everyone comes in from the same starting point. There's no established social hierarchy for a newcomer to break into," Nash says.

-- Recognize the benefits of an established community with a mix of ages.

Although a neighborhood populated with many young children offers obvious advantages for families with small kids, there are also positives for one with mixed-age households.

"Try finding a babysitter in an area where nearly all the residents have kids under 10. You need a place with teenagers or college students home on breaks to find babysitters," he says.

And what about families moving to an area where some friendly empty-nesters already reside?

"It's psychologically healthy for kids to see active seniors out ... enjoying life, especially if the older people interact with the children in a positive way," Nash says.

-- Investigate the social dynamics of any neighborhood you're considering.

Buyers who want a friendly, interactive community are well advised to spend some time there looking for less-than-obvious clues about how people relate.

To learn more about the underlying social dynamics of a community, don't hesitate to go door-to-door and strike up conversations with residents or talk to local shopkeepers. Ask them about the pros and cons of living in the area. The odds are they will respond candidly.

-- Don't limit yourself to just one visit to the neighborhood.

Nash suggests that those with a strong interest in a community visit the area at varied hours to look for patterns of human behavior. Also consider visiting on a weekday as well as the weekend.

"Walk or drive through the neighborhood four times in a day, during the morning, at mid-afternoon, at dinnertime and at 11 p.m. Notice whether people are relating to each other or staying holed up in their homes nearly all the time," he says.

-- Always factor in the advantages of solid neighborhood schools.

A school is important for more than the educational opportunities it gives students. A strong school can help draw people together, tightening the bonds among residents of all ages, says William Bainbridge, president of the SchoolMatch Institute, (schoolmatch.com), which provides comparative information on school quality.

Must you move to an affluent area to find a school with both high-quality facilities and a dedicated teaching force? Not necessarily, according to Bainbridge, who says parental involvement is a key factor in school quality and one that can be present in any type of community.

-- Remember that friendship is always a reciprocal activity.

Those who live in a supportive community have many advantages. For one thing, they can count on neighbors in a pinch -- to borrow a couple of eggs, for example. For another, their neighbors can help ensure the security of their home while they're away. Most importantly, they can count on help in an emergency situation.

But as Nash stresses, moving to a friendly neighborhood won't guarantee that you develop a strong support structure, unless you invest time and energy in creating positive relationships that are genuinely give-and-take. You need to socialize during times of celebration as well as need.

"There's no way to shortcut the process of building relationships. If you want your neighbors to be there in your time of need, you'd better build a good relationship with them and make sure you're also there when they need you," he says.

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

Europe is in turmoil after Britons voted to leave the European Union. The Middle East is in flames. China is in an economic slowdown. And at home, the U.S. presidential race has everyone's nerves frayed.

Yet most home sellers aren't worried about how these factors could affect the real estate market -- or their own potential for a positive outcome, says Sid Davis, a veteran real estate broker.

"Economic and political factors don't affect people's views on real estate unless the problems are in their neck of the woods," says Davis, author of "A Survival Guide to Selling a Home."

Of course, U.S. property markets were shaken in the aftermath of the foreclosure crisis that hit the country beginning in 2008. But the gradual U.S. economic recovery remains more or less on track.

In fact, there are several positives that keep current sellers smiling. One is that mortgage rates continue to hover near record lows, keeping property relatively affordable for buyers. Another is that houses are in short supply in many communities, and prices are still holding steady or rising.

Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, predicts that the good news should last in the months ahead. He anticipates that repeat buyers -- many of whom are trading up to larger properties -- will continue to make up the bulk of purchasers in the near future.

Kathy Zimmermann, a broker-owner with the Re/Max Realty chain, says anxiety levels are typically highest among sellers who face tight time limits because they're moving for a job transfer or because they've already committed to buying another property. In addition, those confronting divorce can become particularly frazzled if a house they expected to sell quickly sits unsold.

Anxious home sellers often lose sleep due to their worries and sometimes bother their listing agent early in the morning after a sleepless night, says Zimmermann, who's received calls and texts from worried clients as early as 5:30 a.m.

But Dorcas Helfant, a broker and former president of the National Association of Realtors, says the fault for a slow-moving house often rests not with the listing agent, but with owners who insist on an above-market price.

"Ask too much and potential buyers will be repelled by what they perceive as your greed," Helfant says.

Here are a few pointers for sellers:

-- Realize that hassling your listing agent could be counterproductive.

Zimmermann says anxious sellers can hurt themselves if they make unreasonable demands on their listing agents. For example, she tells how one of her clients emailed or called her at least two to three times per day, requesting a detailed update on everyone who'd toured his house and their reactions.

Putting a lot of pressure on an agent might seem like a helpful strategy. But it can easily backfire if the agent begins to resent your persistent inquiries, which could result in their dropping the client altogether.

-- Ponder the value of open houses to address a selling problem.

Helfant says that in most cases, public open houses provide little value to homeowners trying to hasten a sale.

She says open houses rarely attract serious, well-qualified purchasers. Many who visit open houses are neighbors or those seeking decorating ideas, while others are mere wishful thinkers who lack the means to go through with a deal.

Instead of pressing your agent to hold more open houses, Zimmermann says you could consider asking for an "office caravan" to gain pointers on making your property more salable. During such an event, many members of the sales force at the listing agent's office come over to critique the home and offer suggestions for upgrades.

For instance, the consensus of the group could be that you should repaint the sunrise yellow walls in your kitchen to a more neutral tone -- even if your agent didn't recommend that.

-- Remember that avaricious sellers often receive less than they deserve.

Accurate pricing is complicated, especially in neighborhoods where property valuations are in transition. In such areas, a study of recent sales -- what are known as "comparables" -- may not give you obvious answers on how much to ask.

Still, cautious pricing is all the more important at a time when many buyers -- including cash-short first-timers -- are still fearful they'll overpay. "Many people won't waste their time trying to negotiate with someone asking too much," Zimmermann says.

Sellers who live in an area with many very similar properties -- like a lot of townhouse communities -- should be particularly careful to avoid over-pricing. That's because buyers searching in such look-alike developments can easily spot overpriced units.

-- Channel your stress into a cleaning blitz.

Davis, who's sold property since 1984, says that in recent years he's noticed a steep decline in the cleanliness of properties shown for sale. He counsels anxious sellers to direct some of their nervous energy into a cleaning spree that covers every room in their place.

Showing a home in immaculate condition can give you a competitive edge over less-tidy people trying to sell in the same hamlet.

"If you're a slob and don't do anything about your mess before buyers start trooping through, you'll be punished," Davis says. "But if your house is well furnished and truly sparkles, you could be richly rewarded."

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

When Fred Meyer buys a new car, he takes a quick and systematic approach. First he browses a few dealers to pinpoint the exact model he wants. Then he requests price quotes from multiple dealers and takes delivery of the lowest-cost vehicle. That way he never overpays.

But when Meyer -- a veteran real estate broker and appraiser -- helps homebuyers decide how much to offer for a property, he does much more research on their behalf. He searches databases to see what homes in the same area have fetched recently. He also drives the clients by these closed sales to ensure they are truly comparable.

While a 2017 Honda Pilot is a generic purchase, a three-bedroom bungalow on Pine Street is not. It's not only that property values can vary widely due to differences in interior and exterior features. Values can also differ greatly due to locational differences. For example, a house on one side of a neighborhood could be worth significantly more than a very similar one on the other side because it's further from a congested roadway or closer to a neighborhood school.

"Determining the market value of a new car is absolutely not the same as figuring out the true worth of any given home. With cars you can have identical products. But nearly all homes are different," Meyer says.

Real estate pros say it's critically important for homebuyers to get a grip on local property values before they shape an offer.

"For buyers to depend on their hunches is a total mistake," says Tom Early, a real estate broker who was twice president of the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (www.naeba.org). "If you overpay, you'll regret that for years."

Early says savvy buyers narrow their research to the precise area where they're looking. If you like a house on a certain street, you should focus there exclusively. Data gathered on state or national real estate trends will have little bearing on your situation.

In areas of the country where property values are high and still rising, it can be challenging for purchasers who've done their research to resist the urge to overpay, says Svenja Gudell, the chief economist for Zillow, the online real estate database group.

Here are a few pointers for buyers:

-- Look to the Internet for preliminary data on local valuations.

Early notes that several websites offer free information on property values and can prove a valuable resource. For example, he cites Zillow.com, which allows you to search data at either the property or neighborhood level.

However, he cautions buyers to keep in mind the limitations of such websites.

"The best they can do is point you in the right direction, getting you into the right ballpark," he says. "In many cases, these websites will either overestimate or underestimate values," he says.

Meyer says websites are no substitute for guidance from an astute real estate agent with a comprehensive knowledge of the area you're searching. Such a local specialist can often recite local property sale statistics from memory.

If you're considering purchase of an unusual, very upscale or one-of-a-kind property and are truly stumped about its value, Meyer recommends you consider hiring an appraiser.

"Appraising is an often forgotten profession, at least for homebuyers," Meyer says.

-- Take advantage of your agent's data sources.

The classic method used by real estate professionals to reach an estimation of value for a property is known as a "comparative market analysis." This technique is grounded in data on recent sales of similar homes to the one being judged.

"In those few new neighborhoods where housing units are essentially clones of each other, this process is pretty straightforward. It's a lot tougher in a neighborhood of older homes, or where every property is custom built," Early says.

"Determining value is both an art and a science. Experience plays a big role," Early says.

-- Consider neighborhood economic trends before you bid.

At a time when real estate market trends are relatively uncertain, as they are now, you need to look beyond closed deals to see where values are heading, according to Early.

"It's highly unusual for home values to rise or fall sharply in a few days or weeks -- as do stocks or bonds. But local economic factors can be hugely influential over time," he says.

For example, in an area that's heavily reliant on a single employer -- such as a military base -- cutbacks by the Pentagon or other employers can have a major impact on property values in nearby neighborhoods. Values can also ascend or decline due to changes in school district boundary lines.

"It's almost impossible to overestimate how much influence schools have in determining property values -- as can the reputation of a neighborhood with a prestigious ZIP code," Early says.

-- Review inventory levels before crafting any offer.

The supply-demand ratio has everything to do with the bargaining power of purchasers, Davis says. Therefore, your agent should keep you abreast of changing inventory levels throughout your search period.

"In areas where bidding wars are a reality, it's always a good idea to recheck inventory levels right before writing up a contract offer for a dream property. Then you're be more likely to submit an offer that's competitive with other bidders," he says

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