What Does Days on Market Mean?
As a prospective homebuyer, what does days on market really mean, and why is it important to know? Here's everything about DOM you need to know.
Home buyers have a hefty word bank of real estate terminology they need to be familiar with. It gets easier, especially if you’re browsing home listings online, since you’ll start to notice some repeating terms on each listing. One of these terms you’ll see is “days on market”.
As a prospective homebuyer, what does this phrase mean to you, how does it affect your home search, and why do you need to know what it means? We’re breaking down the definition of days on market — and more.
What Days on Market Means
When you see “days on market” — or DOM — on a listing, it’s referring to how many days the home has been listed on the market via local multiple listing services (MLS). The days rack up from the time the home is listed until the seller has successfully signed a contract to sell it.
Days on market has important indicators to home buyers and home sellers alike, making it a factor for both parties to get familiar with — and keep an eye on.
Another Phrase: Cumulative Days on Market, or CDOM
As you browse more listings, you may also come across another similar phrase, “cumulative days on market,” also known as CDOM. This term refers to the total days the home has been listed on the MLS and highlights that it may have been pulled off the market, then relisted. Let’s say a FSBO seller lists their property, has it on the market for 75 days, and doesn’t successfully sell it on their own. The seller then hires a real estate agent to relist their property, and you come across the listing after 10 days on the market.
We can calculate cumulative days on market by combining the days on market from the seller’s own listing (75 days) and the days on market from the agent’s listing (10 days). This results in a CDOM of 85 days.
Why Days on Market Matters to Buyers in their Home Search
If days on market and cumulative days on market are so straightforward to understand and define, why do they matter for home buyers as they look for a home? Days on market will help you as a buyer understand how new the listing is to the market. If a listing only has a DOM of a few days, you can feel confident it’s new to the market. This means you have the chance to be one of the first people to schedule a tour, get the listing in front of your agent, and swoop in early to make an offer on the property.
On the flipside, if a property has a lengthy DOM, other buyers either aren’t interested, have fallen through, or there are other details preventing it from selling in a timely manner. As a buyer, seeing the length of the home’s days on markets can be a useful tool to prompt you to dig deeper into why the property hasn’t sold just yet. A lengthier amount of DOM can be beneficial: if sellers are eager to get the home sold and see you’re interested, they may be more flexible in their negotiating, seller concessions, and even the home’s price.
Everything Sellers Should Consider About Days on Market
For sellers listing their home for sale, keeping an eye on days on market is important — but it’s just one piece of the puzzle. Like we shared with home buyers, days on the market indicate the newness of a listing, as well as any potential difficulties the seller may be facing to get the home sold. As a seller, you want to stay close with your agent if you see your home’s days on market creeping up.
While you’re likely familiar with buyer’s hesitations or issues with potential transactions and offers, if your home is listed and buyers aren’t showing interest, work with your agent. Ask what they’re doing to market the home, how they’re creating the listing description, and what other efforts they’re taking to get potential buyers interested.
A Trusted Top Agent Can Help
If you’re a home buyer who’s not sure where to find a listing’s days on the market or cumulative days on the market, a real estate agent can help. On the other hand, if you’re a seller concerned about a home you’ve listed on your own or the current agent you’re working with, you need to connect with a top agent in your area to help.
Thankfully, no matter if you’re a buyer or a seller, there are great, skilled, and trusted agents in your area ready to help you navigate every step of the buying or selling process with ease. RealEstateAgents.com can get you connected with the top local real estate agents in your are to have a successful transaction. Get started today!
