HOW THE DAYS ON THE MARKET AFFECTS PRICE

The number of days on the market before a property is sold is significant information for a buyer when deciding on an offering price. For example, if a buyer were interested in two very similar properties - one that had been on the market for 210 days and the other for only 10 days - the buyer would make a lower offer on the one for 210 days thinking that the seller is probably desperate to sell and would accept a lower offer whereas the other seller would not take a lower offer yet. Buyers may also feel that there might be something wrong with the house or someone else would have already purchased it. For educated buyers, usually what is "wrong" is the price is higher than the buyers' perception of value of the house.

What does that mean for sellers? Every day a property is on the market the price goes down in the minds of buyers. That is why a property sells at its highest price in the first days of exposure to the market. There is another reason for that fact. The buyers most ready to make an offer in the first days are the seasoned buyers who have been educated about the market by a REALTOR® and can act immediately because they have the cash or a mortgage pre-approval letter. If the price is too high initially, they move on and wait for another to come on the market. Sellers should therefore position their property to sell when it first hits the market.
As you select the graphs for your county, study the second page to see how many sellers have guessed wrong about their initial price positioning and are continuing to add more days on the market to their house. They are the ones in the two categories of "price changes" and "total unsold inventory." Also notice the number of those that failed to sell because of the price and became expired listings after many days on the market.

When buyers work with me, we discuss total days on the market as they contemplate an offer. When I am representing sellers, I assist them in understanding that first days of exposure usually generate the highest offering prices. When you or anyone you know needs advice on how today's market is working, please contact me.