Murder of Iowa Realtor Sparks Safety Concerns

The shooting death of an Iowa real estate agent during a model-home showing raises safety concerns for other agents and even for-sale-by-owner sellers.

Ashley Okland, a 27-year-old Realtor with Iowa Realty, died at a hospital Friday evening after receiving two gunshot wounds that afternoon in the model townhome at Stone Creek Villas, a relatively new community of homes built by Rottlund Homes. Her broker and other local agencies canceled many Saturday and Sunday open houses in response.

"It's unfortunate that it takes such a horrible tragedy to increase awareness," Kurt Schade, president of the Iowa Association of Realtors, told the Des Moines Register.