Glendale Buyers often ask me, "How long has this house been on the market?", and I always ask back, "What will that information tell you?"
The truth is, the buyer often has no idea beyond the concept that the longer it's on the market, the more motivated the seller must be.
While that is often true, there is so much more you can learn!
There are two "Days on Market" numbers in the MLS. The first is the number of days the listing has been with this particular listing contract. There is no real explanation needed, here. 9 times out of ten, if you ask your Realtor how long the home has been on the market, they will give you this number.
The real juice, however, is in the second number, the "Cumulative Days on Market"(CDOM) and the "Listing History". The CDOM is the number of days the home has been on the market in the last 365 days. Sometimes this will tell you the home has spent a whole wack of time moving through the distressed sale process. Sometimes this number will reveal an unrealistic seller. 287 days at the same price? Move on, this sucker ain't gonna sell. (Or it is about to go short or foreclose)
At a minimum, the CDOM will tell you if you should look at the historical listing data - the record of a homes marketing journey going many years back. This information can often tell you if the property has had a history of problem selling or it might reveal when the seller is likely to drop their price again.
If your agent isn't sharing the historical data with you, shame on them! Ask about it and demand to see the data from them. If your agent isn't in the same MLS as I am, they are still able to get their hands on the data. Don't let them fool you. A good, professional agent, will give you this data without you asking, especially when you're getting ready to write that offer. If they don't, shame on them! Demand to see it.
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