The Importance of Days on The Market

The length of time a property is on the market is a significant factor in the selling process. Buyers want to know how long a home has been on the market before making an offer. Most buyers will make a lower offer when a home has been on the market for more than 30 days. They assume the seller is so anxious for a sale, they will accept less. However, if a home has been available for only a few days, buyers tend to make offers closer to the list price. If the days on market is very high, some buyers will not even consider a property, thinking something may be wrong with it. Educated buyers know what is probably “wrong” is the price was set higher than current market values and they use high days on market to their advantage in negotiating lower offers.

Sellers need to be aware of days on market for two reasons. First, the more time their home is on the market, the lower the offers will be from buyers. This is why properties almost always sell at their highest price in the first days of exposure to the market, especially in depreciating markets when prices are falling. Review the statistical graphs for your area to see if inventory is still high compared to sales, indicating a continuing depreciating market.

Second, sellers need to consider average days on market for the brokerage company they choose to represent them. Coldwell Banker has lower average days on market because we assist sellers in positioning their home to sell in the first days of exposure, resulting in the highest possible price in the current market.