Days On Market-Does It Matter?

Very good posts, and something I try to talk to my clients about.  There is a lot to the DOM -- and it's up to us to find out what.  Was it a Pending, but buyer couldn't get financing?  Or the price, or ??  Always good to look these things up, and investigate. 

Your best words (for me) are: If you like the house, make an offer. Exactly! I agree, DOM is overrated.

100% agree, thanks for the post

Wayne - You make some excellent points here. I agree that in many instances, there is too much emphasis placed on the DOM statistic.

I agree Buyers get hung up on DOM.

I am going through this very thing today. I have sellers who have been on the mkt for a long time. They have a very unique century home and started out much higher than they are now. They feel the days on market are hurting them and are considering a bit of time off the market to reset the numbers. They understand this won't be fooling any agents. Their hope is to not appear as if something is wrong to the new buyers. However, your point that some buyers avoid new to the market homes in an effort to get a better price, is so right on! It is an interesting topic to think about, as frustrating as it is. Thanks for the post!

In Silicon Valley, and Los Altos specifically, a home that has been on the market for 30 days or more has something wrong - usually price.  The exception is the beginning of the high-end market at around $2.5 million.  I always talk to the agent to get a sense of how much activity they've had and if it's clear he/she has interest but not enough to really write a serious offer, then I know price is an issue.

If a home has been on the market for 60-90 days then price is a huge issue regardless of any other factor.  The location could be terrible, etc but it all comes down to price.

If I had a listing on the market for 3-4 months with no offers, I'd be very concerned.  Of course, I would have had a conversation with the seller back at the end of Week 2 indicating that we need a new price or marketing strategy.

Wayne, one thing that I do notice is that the fresh, new inventory, just under 20 days, can have some awesome homes.

That is a really cool photo on the side of your blog. Is that in your area? I had to come back and take a peek at it.

I think it's also important as a Seller counseling tool . Do they want to duplicate the mistakes of the other sellers in their market who are languishing on the market ? 

Good houses, priced right don't last, so it is better to make an offer regardless of DOM. I think DOM after last price change may be a worthwhile consideration.

I agree completely.  It's good to have an answer to this question because we get it all the time.  Good post.

Good morning Wayne,

Great post and congrats on the feature. I agree if the house appears to be priced right chances are other buyers will feel the same and they will make an offer beating you to the punch! Homes that have been on the market past the average days on market for your area and appear to be over priced will invariably get low offers! Always better to price it right in the beginning!

Good post today, I enjoyed the read.   Yes, I too agree with what you've said in the post.  Lots of good comments as well.

Patricia/Seacoast NH & ME

Good post today, I enjoyed the read.   Yes, I too agree with what you've said in the post.  Lots of good comments as well.

Patricia/Seacoast NH & ME

Wayne  You have explained this very professionally - buyers should base an offer on comparables in the area

Wayne, this is a great post explaining the REAL reason why many homes have long Days On Market. Once they get the price where it should be, they get an offer. However, with the lon DOM, savvy buyers want to lowball...