When a house won’t sell, the answer is often to drop the price, but how much and when?

The following are some items to consider before dropping a home's price, according to several real estate professionals, mostly based in Long Island, N.Y.:

1. Price the house right to begin with — it will get the most activity when it first goes on the market.

2. Lower the asking price sooner rather than later while it's still fresh in buyers' minds.

3. If there has been no offer in one to two months — six at the most — consider dropping the price, then re-evaluate every two to four weeks.

4. When you drop the price, lower it by enough to make the home the top house in a lower price range rather than the bottom house in a higher range.

5. The more expensive the house, the greater the decrease needs to be to attract new buyers.

Source: Newsday, Abigail W. Leonard (01/19/07)