Dawn Isenhower

I had a listing appointment recently, and I had to deliver some unpleasant news. The price at which this particular home was listed was way too high. Nothing comparable had sold within a mile of this home within the past 6 months, so I expanded my search for "solds" to include the entire township. What I found was the perfect illustration of what has happened to the market.

When I was trained as an agent, I was told not to include any transactions that were not "normal, arms-length transactions" in my CMA. Ignore the foreclosures, sales to family members, etc. Of course, we cannot do that any more. To do that would have eliminated almost every sale in this particular township for the last 6 months. Out of approximately 30 sales, there were fewer than 5 "normal transactions". The rest were short-sales and foreclosures, and the homes that were in the range where my subject property had previously been listed were larger, newer, and offered more amenities.

That meeting did not end with a signed listing agreement. I'm sure that it prompted a great deal of discussion among the sellers, and they may list with someone else who had better news for them than I did. How quickly things have changed in the past few years. While there were those who predicted our current situation, how shocking it is. No one can tell me though, that homes are not selling. They are "flying off of the shelves" for the right price.

Dawn Isenhower
Realtor
Coldwell Banker West Shell
Milford Office
dawn.isenhower@cbws.com
office: 513-831-8001
cell: 513-236-1254
www.dawnisenhower.com