How much is that doggie in the window? How long has he been for sale?

David,

I cannot agree that DOM always works against a seller.  If a property legitimately has only been on the market for a brief period of time, that could certainly factor into a buyer's negotiating strategy. 

As for the gravamen of your argument, I simply don't believe it is the industry's job to conceal pertinent information from potential buyers.  I don't believe that it is the listing agent's job to try and pull the wool over a potential buyer's eyes.  To me, DOM is no different that assessed value.  It is a fact that cannot be avoided.

David,

You are correct about my perspective.  I guess my point is, why should the industry favor sellers over buyers?  I think that deleting this information would be a step in the wrong direction.  We are living in the information age.  People are demanding this information. 

Dave,

Perhaps, I'm missing something. When you have your listing presentation are you informing the sellers that their information (DOM) will be available for other Realtors to see? If so, they have been informed and choose to have their product appear dated by not properly pricing the home. Agreed DOM can be manipulated, by switching agents.

As to other industries showing how long their products have been on the market, every retail establishment has sales, sometimes deep discount sales, on their products before the next years models arrive.

David,

     Car dealers don't tell you how long it has been on the lot but we always look inside the jamb of the front door at the manufacture date to figure it out.

What the heck does this have to do with your blog?  Well, if you remove DOM, good buyer's agents will do something similar - they KNOW how long most of the inventory in their target market has been on the market even if it doesn't show up on their computer screen.

Rita 

Hi David,

When we purchased our home a few years back I loved it when the listing sheet somehow let me know how long the home had been on the market. I thought that it would give me power over the seller because I knew that their home had been lingering and that they were probably getting desperate to sell. I assumed that I would be able to get them to take a lower price.

It is a moot point in Michigan's market now, you could easily assume most listings have either been on the market a while or the seller must really have to sell if they are selling in our market.

If you didn't know the DOM, you can always tell by the trees in the online photos how long a homes been sitting there!

Great point, Cari.  In Northern Michigan, you can tell DOM on the waterfront properties when you see the lakes frozen over in the pictures, and it's still an active listing in November! :-)