The Spring marketplace has arrived and most media outlets are focusing on the positive attributes of the 2010 sales year to date:

1.) Average price has risen 5% from the same time last year (through June, 2010)

2.) All six months this year have seen an increase in sold units per month over the year before

3.) Every month this year has seen average price and median price escalate compared to the year before. We are now at an average sales price of $237,000.

There is no disputing the positive attributes of this market information. Similarly there is no disputing the negative information that still exists:

1.) Colorado Springs unemployment is not getting any better. The decisions of the city to not save during high growth times or strategically direct growth are ominous for the future. The buying public is openly asking questions about economic recovery and future lifestyle sustainability.

2.) There were 9 foreclosures for every 100 households in Colorado Springs last year. That's the highest ratio of foreclosures in city history, even higher than the numbers in the late 80's. That put a lot of discounted, junky inventory on the market, further eroding prices.

3.) In a city so reliant on leverage, big loans are still hard to come by, and sales over $500,000 are 30% of what they were in 2006.

Yes, there is opportunity and increased probability to sell.

Yes, prices have eroded for three consecutive years and have only recently flatlined, begun appreciating, or in some cases, merely slowed in their depreciation.

It is in a market such as this that 5988 sellers now find themselves attempting to sell their homes. With more than 6 months of inventory marketwide, and time on market measured in years not days in most neighborhoods above $400,000, sellers need to carefully consider their options.

This is not a market for amateurs, silver bullets, nor promises.

It is a market for process. Systems. Careful analysis. Constructive use of data. Imaginative understandings of buyer's emotional thresholds.

To understand further how you can catalyze your opportunity and minimize your risk, please read further...