No one with a home for sale in greater Cincinnati wants the listing contract for their home or condo to expire – however every hour of every day “expired listings” pop up in the Cincy MLS system.

The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines “expired” -#1. to breathe one’s last breath #2. to come to an end or #3. obsolete. …all pretty good definitions of an expired listing.  In contractual terms an expired listing is the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) designation indicating the listing contract is no longer active. There’s lots of reasons why homes and condos end up on the “expired” list:

• intentional- the agent or seller wants a new mls# or the seller is changing agents and/or real estate company
• overpriced
• hard to show
• doesn’t fit into neighborhood and with current market conditions-buyers are very picky
• seller motivation
• condition

Whatever the reason when your listing shows as “expired” in MLS, both agents and buyers will be looking at the information  to draw some conclusions when making a buying decision.  Most agents and buyers look at:

• original list price
• time on market
• number of times property has been listed (property history)
• comparable listing in the area- selling prices and/or expired listings
• photos and disclosure information available via Cincy MLS

Whether your property is a new listing or a relist- the MLS property history data provides in-depth information that influences buyer’s decision making process.  Overall the number of expired listings seems to be on a downward trend with 818 expireds in August 2012 versus 694 during August 2013.  If sales remain steady or increase, the number of expired listings should continue to decline. However if interest rates continue to creep up causing buyers to return to sitting on the fence- the expired count could rise during the fall and winter.

Nobody wants (agents or sellers) listings to expire – but it happens. Sellers need to ask for the data about everything that is happening in the local real estate market and make decisions based on facts not hunches or feelings.

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