In February, a local real estate agent did an interview for Nightline and came off very badly. What his intent is to refresh the property so that the buyer gives it another consideration. He is correct that when buyers see that a home has been for sale for a long time, they immediately think something is wrong with it. However, counting simply days on market does not take into account these things that might have affected its previous ability to sell:
- Time of year – homes sell slower in the winter months
- Price – if the price was reduced 10% yesterday, it is on Day 2 of it’s current price
- Updates – seller may have done cleaning/updating/staging since first listing
- Failed sale – if it sold once in 45 days and the sale fell through, it is almost like starting over.
As a great friend of mine in my office always says: “the first time a buyer sees a house is Day 1 on the market for that buyer.” I have to agree in that homes are unique enough and in this market homes for sale are high enough that a single buyer makes all the difference. If a buyer has never looked at the home before, what difference does it make to them how long the home was for sale before they ever saw it? If everyone else didn’t like the house, they better not like it either?????
Next time you go shopping at a department store, ask the sales clerk how long that shirt has been for sale on the rack… and if it has been on the rack more than 30 days, ask for a 10% discount on the shirt! Maybe that shirt isn’t the most popular color or size or maybe it was priced too high and is now on sale, or maybe it wasn’t very visible on the rack at first. No matter it’s history, if the shirt is a color you like, fits you well, and at a price you’re willing to pay, I bet you’re going to buy the shirt. Same thing goes for the house!
While I fully support the concept of re-listing properties at the discretion of the seller/listing agent, but I also believe that any and all activity must be disclosed upon request from a buyer/buyer’s agent. Further, no agent should advertise selling a home in XX days when it is really XX + XX days.
The Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS does publish market stats with CDOM (Cumulative Days on Market) so I believe we’re tracking correct numbers in the Twin Cities, so I do not believe it is hurting our market picture.
In the end, a number of days on market means nothing unless you fully understand how that number came to be… re-listing a home is simply another marketing tool used to get a buyer to come to you with enough interest to give you the time to explain the situation.
