So in our board, there seems to be a recent surge of agents withdrawing and re-listing properties for the same price, in order to keep the DOM # down. I can pull up multiple properties that have been withdrawn and re-listed with new MLS # for the exact same price, and on the same day. Now I'm all for being creative and pushing the grey area of marketing to as favorable position as possible, yet I'm not down with deception or other agents thinking they are "beating'' the system.
If a client gets on-line and starts to browse for homes, I can't recall any IDX sites that readily display DOM to potential buyers. You barely get any information at all, so the buyer has no clue on to how long the listing has been on the market. Now should they start to look further, shouldn't that agent be responsible for knowing as much about that home as possible....isn't that part of our job? Yes, but who do they think they are fooling? I can easily tell (normally remember) if the house has been on the market before, or for a length of time. Plus its right there in front of us.
I am for adding a cumulative days on market category to our MLS system. From the day a listing is input that date cannot change. I do think if a home expires or is withdrawn, and after say a 6-8 month off market period, it should be able to be re-listed with a new date, but again, only when certain criteria are met. This would easily and painlessly prevent fraudulent activity. This would also give us better data on just how long homes are truly on the market, and allow us to better be able to determine fair market price and give more accurate and honest CMA reports, and market reports.
Is the listing agent being deceptive? Are they working in the best interest of the Seller? If a potential buyer finds out about this....they are most certainly going to make a lower offer, and some might even pass on that particular listing and look elsewhere. So in the long run doesn't the "creative" agent actually shoot themselves in the foot......only if the consumer finds out. Now is that any way to conduct ourselves as REALTORS? Are we testing our peers or just trying to get over on them?
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