An engineer in her 60s plans to list her redwood contemporary later this year. Given that nearby houses flew off the market at healthy prices in 2022, she assumes any listing agent she picks will perform the same magic for her place.

But Eric Tyson, a personal finance expert and co-author of “Selling Your House for Dummies,” cautions that finding the best available agent can be a tricky proposition, especially in a changing economy.

“Buyers are much more demanding than they were during the pandemic, when many purchasers bid over the asking price and waived their right to a home inspection. Also, in most areas, it’s taking longer than before to sell property,” Tyson says.

Taylor Marr, an economist for Redfin, the national realty brokerage, notes that it now takes a median time of 44 days to sell a home. That’s the longest time period since April 2020.

Also, compared with a year ago, home-sale prices have dropped in 20 of the 50 most populous U.S. metros.

Given the new complexities involved in home selling, Tyson advises owners to use businesslike methods to find the best available listing agent.

“In many cases, people just make a random selection of agents, picking someone a neighbor or co-worker happens to know. But selling success can depend in large measure on the agent’s due diligence,” he says.

Granted, some owners do well on their sale without a highly qualified agent -- particularly if they’re lucky enough to live in a neighborhood where sellers still hold sway and inventories are lean. But real estate specialists caution against overconfidence, especially at a time when there are crosscurrents in the economy, as there are now.

Whether your home sale is voluntary or involuntary, Tyson says it’s critical you make agent selection a priority.

“Treat hiring an agent as seriously as you would any professional -- including a lawyer, accountant or surgeon,” Tyson says.

Ron Phipps, a real estate broker and past president of the National Association of Realtors (nar.realtor), says more sellers are gradually getting the message about the importance of careful agent selection.

“The good news is that sellers are now searching more widely,” he says.

Here are a few pointers for sellers:

-- Make sure you interview at least two to four candidates.

“When you talk to several people, you’ll get different perspectives on your sale,” Phipps says. “Several opinions on pricing can be especially helpful.”

He says you should be wary of any agent who suggests you list your place for more than 10% above what others say is its fair market value.

“Find out how they arrived at that higher price,” says Phipps, noting that occasionally some agents may suggest an above-market list price as a way to flatter you into hiring them. This practice is known as “buying the listing.”

“It’s a shortsighted listing strategy,” says Phipps, who works for his family-owned realty firm in Rhode Island.

-- Zero in on local knowledge.

Should you consider hiring a recommended agent if their office is located a significant distance away from your place?

Absolutely not, says Tyson, who contends that a faraway agent is likely to be much less effective in marketing your property than one who knows your local turf well.

“Anyone who works more than a 15-minute drive from your place is probably a very poor bet. Geography matters a lot,” he says.

It’s especially wise to have an agent close by if you’re trying to sell a property in a city setting, such as a condo in a high-rise building. In such a case, the ideal agent is typically someone with proven experience selling units in your same building.

“Agents with an intimate knowledge of the floor plans and sales history of your complex can hit the pricing target right the first time. That spares you the agony of multiple pricing adjustments later,” Tyson says.

Real estate agents call the area where they most often sell homes their “farm.” As Tyson says, agents who say they farm your area should be able to demonstrate this with a list of transactions they’ve done there recently.

-- Ask for information about each candidate’s awards and honors.

How can you identify agents who have achieved an unusual level of expertise? Phipps says one way is to ask if they’ve been elected to positions of leadership within their professional groups.

“This shows they have a reputation for collaborating with other real estate people,” Phipps says. That’s important, he says, because real estate is a cooperative profession, and a successful sale typically involves more than one agent.

-- Choose an agent with a proven deal-closing record.

During boom times, most sellers feel home free once they’ve obtained a ratified contract, meaning their deal has been agreed upon by both sides of the transaction.

But in a transitional period like the current one, many sellers are understandably nervous that complications along the way to closing might jettison their deal. That’s because qualifying for a mortgage is tougher than it was prior to the major housing downturn of 2008. Consequently, more home loan applications are declined than before.

“Selling has become much more complicated. So it’s smart to find an agent with experience handling many different kinds of transactions. Look for their record of closing deals, not just taking listings,” Phipps says.

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

It’s too early for the spring home-buying market to start in earnest. What’s more, bad weather is slowing this year’s real estate recovery. Still, anecdotal reports indicate rising confidence among buyers.

“Buyers are past any freak-out about high mortgage rates. They’re more confident because they’re getting pay increases and because unemployment is super low,” says Stacy Berman, a real estate agent in the field since 2002.

An increasing number of young adults are seeking to escape their rental units. And changing market conditions are encouraging them to move forward. That’s especially so for people who spent the worst of the pandemic in a cramped apartment. The quest to buy remains especially urgent for those in the millennial generation.

“The millennials really want a house -- ideally with space for one or two home offices,” Berman says.

Millennials and their younger siblings from Generation Z are facing many financial headwinds. Rents, along with food prices and health care costs, have risen dramatically in recent years. But for those with young children, the real stinger is high child-care expenses.

Take the case of a nurse practitioner of 32 who’s married to an IT consultant. Together, their salaries exceed $100,000. But the cost of day care for their two toddlers now tops $3,000 per month -- more than their rent.

Even so, market conditions are now more favorable for buyers than they were during the pandemic home-buying frenzy of late 2020 and 2021, when bidding wars left many would-be buyers out in the cold.

One indication of buyer empowerment is that purchasers clearly have more leverage than they did during the worst of the bidding wars.

“Buyers are asking sellers for things that were unheard of during the past few years,” says Van Welborn, a Redfin real estate agent in Arizona.

Welborn tells how one of his clients negotiated a $10,000 credit for a new roof and several other repairs. The sellers also knocked $15,000 off their asking price.

“Concessions were common before the pandemic, and we may be returning to that norm. Sellers realize they’re not going to get $80,000 over the asking price like their neighbor did last year,” he says.

Though many young buyers now qualify for low-down-payment mortgages, the biggest stumbling block they face is often debt. This includes not only student loans but also car loans and credit card debt.

“Just like generations of homebuyers before you, you’ve got to tighten your belt and make extra loan payments until you whittle down your debt. Otherwise, your debt-to-income ratio will hinder your odds of qualifying for a mortgage,” says Sid Davis, author of “A Survival Guide to Buying a Home.”

Here are a few pointers for first-time buyers:

-- Try to reduce your debt load with extra income.

For anyone seeking to progress financially, cutting debt -- including credit-card balances -- is an absolute must.

“The interest rates charged on most credit cards are ridiculously high. All that interest can eat you alive,” says Jim Blankenship, a certified financial planner.

Unfortunately, many young adults make only enough money to meet necessary living expenses. Given this reality, Blankenship often recommends that would-be buyers consider supplementing their income.

“Think about taking a second job. Or try to get overtime at your regular job, assuming overtime is available,” he says.

-- Save cash by limiting wedding outlays.

Kristin Meador, a real estate broker who often works with young buyers, wrote a book designed to help clients save on their wedding costs. She says it’s very possible to cut costs for a range of wedding-related expenses, from invitations to rings to the reception and honeymoon.

“When you’re trying to save for a house, it makes no sense to spend $500 or more for a wedding dress,” Meador says.

She says there are many ways to hold an inexpensive yet tasteful wedding. These include having the reception at a local park or community center.

“Buying a home has long-term benefits that last far beyond your wedding day,” Meador says.

The expense of an average wedding is now hovering around $28,000 -- funds Meador believes would be better spent on a home, assuming the property is carefully selected.

-- Don’t rule out selling one car to build your savings.

A new or nearly new car is often the first major purchase for many young adults. Usually, the car is financed with a hefty loan. But mortgage lenders often frown at the sight of a prospective buyer driving up in a late model vehicle.

“Lenders know that a couple who’s financing one or more cars will likely find it tougher to qualify for a home loan,” Blankenship says.

Even if you drive an older vehicle and have no car loan, chances are you’re paying a substantial amount for car insurance and repairs -- not to mention gas.

Blankenship says it’s a wise idea for young couples bent on homeownership to ponder the idea of selling one vehicle. Consider public transit or carpooling as an alternative to commuting alone.

-- Consider shared housing on a temporary basis.

Moving in with a family member for a year or so could help you cut rental costs substantially. Perhaps an elderly uncle who owns a large house would let you live there rent free in exchange for help with grocery shopping and trips to the doctor.

Davis says he’s worked with a number of young buyers who’ve obtained substantial savings through a housing-for-services swap.

“You don’t have to live with your uncle or another elderly person forever. Just doing so temporarily could help you save sufficiently to pay down enough debt to qualify for a mortgage,” he says.

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

A princely townhouse near the historic Washington, D.C., neighborhood of Georgetown just sold for more than $550 per square foot. Among its many features: two-sided gas fireplaces, spa-like bathrooms and an elevator. Topping it off is a rooftop deck overlooking the Washington Monument.

Given the uncertainties of the current real estate market, the nervous owners of this plush property volunteered many concessions. They kept the price a notch below market and even gifted the buyers a houseful of designer furniture. Still, they avoided excessive renovations that likely would never have paid them back at the closing table.

Ronald Phipps, a past president of the National Association of Realtors (nar.realtor), doesn’t know the sellers of this opulent townhouse. But he credits them for avoiding over-the-top presale improvements.

“When picking home improvements, you want to be pragmatic and practical, not exuberant and carefree,” Phipps says.

A veteran of the real estate field for more than four decades, Phipps says it’s particularly unwise to overspend on presale upgrades during this phase of the economic cycle when a recession could be looming.

What commonly happens is that owners who try to recoup the cost of excessive presale improvements find the price they’re demanding is too high. Hence, their property is likely to sit unsold for a lengthy period until they take a price cut.

Sometimes sellers commit the double error of both overimproving and personalizing the improvements to such an extent that buyers are repulsed by the changes.

For instance, Phipps cites an interior designer who spent more than $30,000 to install such dramatic decor in his place that one prospect “literally became nauseated when she walked through.”

“Each room assaulted your senses. Picture a French provincial dining room with blue flocked wallpaper next to an all-steel-and-glass kitchen. Also ... a family room painted fire-engine red with blue lights on the ceiling,” Phipps remembers.

The sale of this “surreal” property proved problematic and, despite the owner’s expenditures, the place ultimately sold for a disappointing sum.

“Buyers view houses like this as ‘fixer-uppers.’ They typically sell for 10% to 15% under their market value,” Phipps says.

Here are pointers for sellers:

-- Seek a checklist of improvements from your real estate agent.

Real estate specialists divide problematic sellers into two categories: those who refuse to spend any money for presale improvements -- even critically important cosmetic ones -- and those who spend excessively or misappropriate their dollars.

“Before you sell, the key is to distinguish between changes that give you a big bang for your buck and those that simply represent money burned,” says Eric Tyson, a personal finance expert and co-author of “Selling Your House for Dummies.”

To come up with a focused plan for presale improvements, Tyson advises sellers to ask their agent for a written checklist.

“A good agent will know which improvements are needed and justified and which are not. By doing a written checklist, it’s more likely your agent will be thorough and not simply gloss over the highlights,” he says.

-- Abandon any plans for a presale addition.

Are you the owners of a large house with an undersized family room? Do you plan to expand your family room in hopes of making your place more salable? Would this make sense?

“The answer is normally ‘no.’ In most cases, it’s not cost-effective to knock out walls to build an addition,” Tyson says.

He says those who attempt a presale addition rarely recoup more than 50% to 60% of the money invested. Moreover, any construction project that involves the removal of walls can be very time-consuming and stressful.

“Usually, the only time homeowners are smart to do a presale addition is to replace an addition that was badly done or is an eyesore,” Tyson says.

-- Restrict your upgrades to neighborhood standards.

As your listing agent will likely tell you, your kitchen is a high priority when it comes to presale improvements. If it’s a turnoff to buyers, many will pass on your place.

“But the idea in your kitchen, as elsewhere in your house, is to meet but not exceed neighborhood standards,” Tyson says.

In a luxury neighborhood, new quartz or granite countertops could make sense. Also, new designer hardware could also be worth the expense in your kitchen, as could new upscale flooring.

Still, there are limits on how much you should spend in your kitchen, even if you’re selling in a high-end community.

“Most buyers won’t care that you’ve done a second major kitchen renovation. For instance, few are justified in adding an under-the-counter ice maker, a wine storage center or a second dishwasher,” Tyson says.

-- Accentuate the look of your yard.

The landscaping around your place is like the frame around a painting. It defines the entire image of the home.

But upgrading your landscaping need not be costly, assuming you’re resourceful.

“You’ll want to trim your shrubs, and you’ll definitely, absolutely want to remove dead plants. A dead plant is a real turnoff,” Tyson says.

For replacement plants, Tyson suggests you turn to a local nursery for free guidance on plant selection and design.

Or look to a helpful neighbor with a green thumb.

Most sellers can dramatically improve the curb appeal of their property by cutting back or replacing any overgrown shrubbery that shrouds their property. But you don’t need to install exotic plants or dazzling fountains.

“Ripping out your whole landscaping plan and starting over is almost never called for. When it comes to your yard, you can greatly improve its looks for relatively little money,” Tyson says.

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