Juliet and Jody Oliver figured it might take several weeks -- or months -- to sell their renovated 1910 Tudor in Ben Avon. So when a friend offered to spread the word about the house and its amenities via an e-mail, they gladly accepted.

It turned out to be a savvy move. Within two days, six potential buyers materialized from the 40 friends and colleagues that neighbor Jen Wagner contacted. All were interested enough to ask to see the Dickson Avenue house that weekend. Eight days later, the Olivers received and accepted an offer for the full asking price of $400,000. They close in June.

In some parts of the country, the nation's housing market is in a deep freeze -- houses sit unsold, prices keep falling and new housing developments remain vacant or uncompleted. But in the Pittsburgh region, the slump isn't hitting nearly as hard. Although home sales in Allegheny County fell 18 percent the first three months of 2008 compared with the year-ago period, and the average number of days homes were on the market before being sold rose a day to 108 days, the median sales price jumped 9.4 percent -- bucking the national trend.

Some of the resilience is explained by the fact that the region's housing market never boomed. Thus, the bust was small. It's also worth noting that the metro area is filled with pockets of middle- to upper-middle income neighborhoods where home prices have tended to rise consistently -- or at least remain stable -- regardless of economic conditions.

But none of that explains why agents sometimes see multiple offers on homes in neighborhoods not usually thought of as "hot," or properties selling for the full asking price after just a few days on the market. Sure, they might be in turnkey condition or have lots of upgrades. But the real key these days, it seems, is price. Real estate agents say homes are selling quickly when they're priced right -- for the amount you know you can get rather than what you wish you could get.

Too many home sellers make the mistake of basing their asking price on what a house around the corner sold for in 2006 or what a neighboring property is currently listed for, even if it's been sitting for weeks or months, real estate experts say. What they should be doing instead is basing their price on recent sales.

"It's an ego thing sometimes," said George Hackett, president and chief executive officer of Coldwell Banker Pittsburgh. Mr. Hackett acknowledges it can be disappointing to have your house sell for less than a neighbor's did even a year ago. "But everyone has to keep an open mind and be willing to readjust," he says.

Simply put, most sellers shouldn't expect to make a big profit and should understand that a house's condition, while always an issue, is particularly important when there are others in the same price range. Two years ago, buyers might have overlooked an outdated kitchen or ratty wallpaper, for example, because the market was on the rise. Today, said Howard Hanna agent Crystal Alfonsi, they want to be "dazzled."

"Buyers might say they don't mind a fixer-upper, but unless it's a huge bargain, it's the one that's in tip-top shape they fall in love with," she said. "The homes that need new carpeting or electric go right out the window."

In the Olivers' case, the upgrades that helped seal the deal included a brand-new kitchen, a new master bath with a radiant-heat travertine floor, high-velocity air conditioning and all new windows in the third floor.

James and Lee Carren Mather, who recently relocated from Houston, Texas, know first-hand how quickly a well-priced house in great condition can slip through your fingers. Thinking they could low-ball the sellers in a slow market, the couple lost a house they wanted to buy in Jefferson Hills to someone willing to pay full price, with no contingencies.

They didn't make the same mistake twice: The Mathers paid the full asking price of $279,900 last month for a 17-year-old Colonial on Hidden Oak Drive, even though Mr. Mather, who was still in Texas, hadn't seen it. Time on the market: one hour.

"Everything was in beautiful shape so we didn't want to let it get away," said Mrs. Mather, who got the call from her real estate agent just minutes after the listing came up on her PDA.

"In that price range, with something in tip-top condition, it's immediately gone," agreed Ms. Alfonsi.

University of Pittsburgh law professor David Harris, who is in the process of moving here from Toledo, had a similar experience when searching for a house this spring in the East End. It took nearly three months of looking at up to 10 houses a day before he and his wife made a successful offer on a home in their price range. They expect to close sometime in June.

"All the good ones go quick," said Mr. Harris.

At least three houses he liked were sold before he could get his wife in from Ohio to see them.

One reason houses are selling better in this region than in many other parts of the country is that there isn't the oversupply of other markets, said Howard "Hoddy" Hanna, CEO of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services. According to the West Penn Multi List, the number of listings between January and March 2008 fell about 4 percent from the same period last year, from 10,497 properties for sale to 10,045. And as everyone learned in Economics 101, if supply falls but demand remains stable or even rises, then prices will rise, too.

By way of comparison, southern Florida currently counts some 80,000 active listings for sale, compared with just 12,000 three years ago, said Mr. Hanna.

In McCandless, for example, there's very little for sale in the $350,000 to $500,000 price range.

Sales are equally brisk for houses priced under $300,000 in Hampton, said Betsy Wotherspoon of Prudential Preferred Realty, who recently sold an older home on Hidden Pond Drive for just 1.3 percent less than its $294,000 asking price in less than a week; a three-bedroom ranch on Surrey Drive that needed some upgrades sold for 3 percent less than its $187,500 list price in 21 days.

The only properties that seem to be lingering on the market, she said, are patio homes geared at empty-nesters and seniors, which builders started constructing in spades six or seven years ago.