In most states - the MLS calculates the number of days a property has spent on the market as a consecutive figure. That amount resets to zero if the property is taken off the market for a certain amount of time. Maryland had it at 180 days - but is thinking about reducing it to as little as 60. Here is an article about the re-set time in Maryland. In Illinois - for many years - a property had to be off the market for 181 days before being re-listed if the market time was to show zero in the MLS. Then in 2004 - that figure changed to 91 days - and it has been 91 days ever since (re-ratified in November, 20007) with the exception of the summer of 2006 - when the board changed a rule - which only lasted a few months. See the attached for the reason they dissolved it. At that time - if a property was de-listed and then came back on the market - it would show zero days on the market - even if it had only been off the market for a day or two. MLS rules states that if a property is re-listed - it had to have a new listing agreement. What happened in the summer of 2006 - was that there were so many "new listings" with no new listing agreements - MLSNI had to fine the agents a few hundred dollars - but nevertheless - the statistic in the MLS still zero'ed out. There were so many agents doing this -- re-listing property without new listing agreements - that it became a big headache for MLSNI - and they could not keep up with all the infractions. Here is the postcard that they sent out at that time after they re-thought everything. So - in September of 2006 - they re-instituted the 91 day rule again. Agents and brokerages put pressure on MLS systems to minimize the number of days a property is off the market - to reset the clock to zero. In some states where total market time (including time with past agents) isn't listed on the agent copy of the MLS sheet (it is in Illinois) -- this can help sellers (if agents are lazy and don't look up the property history).