How Buyers Look at Days on Market

There are no ifs, ands or buts about it. When buyers see extensive days on market, they figure the seller is desperate to sell because the home is still on the market.

Buyers also believe there might be something wrong with the home that caused other buyers to pass it up. Both of those assumptions, however, can be wrong.

Homes can linger on the market for the following reasons:

1. The most common reason is overpricing

The agent may have "bought" the listing by misleading the seller into believing the home was worth more than the market will bear. It's not unusual for an agent to deliberately take an overpriced listing.
 
2. Little seller motivation

Sometimes sellers want to "test the market" by pricing too high, just to see if they can find a fool to pay that price. It's known as a seller's worst mistake.
 
3. Stubbornness

Sellers could be stuck on the price and willing to wait out the market until the market catches up to the asking price.

4. Down real estate market

In buyer's markets, it can take longer to sell a home than in seller's markets. A home that would sell in five days in a seller's market might sell in 90 days in a down real estate market.
 
5. Unavailable to show

If the property is rented, it might be difficult to obtain an appointment from the tenant. In most cases, vacant or owner occupied homes get shown more often than those that are tenanted.
 
6. Unsuitable to show

Sometimes sellers put homes on the market before they are ready to let buyers see it. They might be finishing re-sale repairs or painting during the first 30 to 60 days of a listing.

7. Reduced commission

Although agents are required to show all listings, some agents may be less inclined to show those for which they will receive less reward.
 
8. Little Internet exposure

If the home has one photograph online, buyers are likely to pass on the listing and instead choose homes to see that have multiple photographs.


Agent Practice of Relisting to Reset Days on Market

A common practice among many real estate agents is to withdraw a listing from the internet after a certain number of days and re-list it as a new listing. Some agents re-list because they know that buyers gravitate toward new listings.

Many buyers dislike this practice because they feel it is misleading and not an accurate picture of the number of days on market. After a home is on the market for 60 to 90 days, it is not unusual for it to sell within five days after coming back on the market as a new listing.

Sometimes listings expire. Many agents take a listing for 90 days and when it expires, a new agent snaps up the listing and reaps the rewards of the first agent's hard work. If you're happy with your present agent, you might consider re-listing with your existing agent and save yourself the additional marketing costs.

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