Days on Market and Home Sales – What Does itMean?

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Whether you are buying or selling a home, “days on market” is a term you are likely to hear f rom yourRealtor. The number of days a home has been listed can be usef ul inf o when viewed in context ofthe over all market. How quickly homes are selling is going to vary f rom one price range to the nextand f rom one neighborhood to the next.

Using Las Vegas as an example, 50% of the homes that sold in April 2014 were listed f or 30 days orless. The f ollowing table gives a breakdown of the prices ranges f or the homes that closed with lessthan 30 days on the market:

Homes priced at $200K or less sold quicker. We sold 24 $1 Million plus homes in April. The averageDOM f or this bracket was 98. Only 8 of the luxury homes sold in 30 days or less. One of the luxuryhomes showed 388 DOM.

One of the problems buyers encounter with luxury homes is the sellers may not be under pressure. Ifthey own a luxury home f ree and clear, they may have the assets to hold on to the home until theyget their price.

Aside f rom price range, homes in the most popular areas sell quicker. Property type also af f ects howsoon a home will sell. The Las Vegas High Rise Market has been moving slower the last f ew months. In April the high rise condos that sold were on the market an average of 200 days.

These are all f actors that buyers should consider when looking at a home that’s been on the marketf or awhile. Buyers should also have their agent look at the property’s history. This inf o is availablein the MLS and will tell you if the listing agent has re- listed the property to make it appear that it ’s anew listing. While this is f rowned upon by most MLS Associations, it does happen.

The history of the property will also reveal whether the home has gone into contract and f ell out. We’ve seen this happen a lot with short sales over recent years. Buyers get impatient with the slowprocess and cancel. Sometimes the bank will counter at a higher price. Short sales tend to havemuch higher days on market than a tradit ional home that is well priced. If the home has been in andout of contract, your agent should call the other agent f or an explanation. Was it an appraisal issue? Was it the inspection?

For Sellers, your best chance of getting the

Why hasn’t my ho me so ld afte r 300 Days On the Marke t?

For Sellers, your best chance of getting thehome sold at the best price is to price it wellf rom the beginning. As Lynn Pineda points outin her series of Home Selling Tips, when youprice your home too high, it will stay on themarket longer. As it sits on the market it gets astigma. Buyers assume that it ’s over-priced orthere’s something wrong with it.

When you f inally do get an of f er on a homethat’s been on the market a long time, it is likelyto be a lowball of f er. The bargain hunger typeof buyer will of ten ask f or homes that havebeen listed a long time. They see them asopportunit ies. They know the home is over-priced so it isn’t attracting the attention of other buyers who could compete with them.

When buyers visit the home they look f or f laws to explain why it ’s been listed so long. They make amental list of the dated f ixtures, the paint colors, anything to explain why it hasn’t sold. Theysuspect the seller is getting desperate and will be happy to get their of f er. They won’t hesitate toof f er much less than the list price. They f ound so many def ects.

Why Overpricing a Home Creates Damaging Af f ects by Bill Gassett outlines many of the hazards ofpricing too high. As he says, pricing too high causes the days on the market to become bloated. Your best chance to sell your home is during the f irst months it is on the market. And, in thequickest moving price ranges, your best chance is during the f irst weeks it ’s on the market.

For more inf o on how you can avoid having your home linger on the market too long we recommend:

In “What is the Value of Your Home” Janis Borgueta gives some excellent guidelines to help priceyour home to sell. While Janis covers the Hudson Valley area, her common sense advice works inany market.

“Real Estate Terminology – DOM – Average Days On Market” by Karen Highland. As Karen pointsout, if you know a home has been listed f or 180 days and the average f or the neighborhood is 80days, we have a problem.

The amount of t ime a home has been listed is an important bit of inf o f or buyers. An experiencedbuyer ’s agent will be able to tell you how long it ’s been listed. They’ll be able to compare it to theaverage DOM f or the neighborhood.

For sellers, the longer your home stays on the market, the less you will likely get f or it. Make sureyour agent can tell you how long it should take to sell your home and how pricing it too high willaf f ect the time it takes.

Debbie Drummond has over ten years experience in the Las Vegas Real Estate Market. Shespecializes in luxury homes and high rise properties. If you’re buying or selling a Las Vegas home,call (702)354-6900 or email Debbie@LVHomePro.com. We’ll be happy to assist you in your move.