A new tally for days on market
Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, which runs the local multiple-listing service, said today that it is changing the way it tallies the number of days certain properties have been on the market. Follow along, because if you judge the health of a housing market by the number of days it takes homes to sell, you may soon be comparing apples to oranges.
Currently, a home pulled off the market and put back on less than 180 days later doesn't show up as a new listing -- its running total of days on the market includes the earlier stint. Tomorrow, Rockville-based MRIS says, that waiting period drops to 90 days. It said a majority of agents surveyed were in favor of the change.
"This just seems to be regarded by those in the industry as ... a more accurate gauge of what would connotate a new listing," said Mary Jo Powell, a spokeswoman for MRIS. She said sellers who pull their homes off the market to fix them up and try again have been at a disadvantage because buyers concentrate on new listings.
Powell said MRIS estimates that 20 percent of the currently active listings will be affected by this change, meaning they were on the market, then off, and were put back on again sometime between 90 and 180 days later. That seems significant enough that it's worth keeping in mind if you track changes in days on market in MRIS's online statistical reports by county and ZIP code.
There's a bone of contention about this change:
MRIS says its property history on each home for sale will note how long it was listed previously, so "it doesn't deceive anyone," Powell said. But John F. Sullivan, a buyer's agent with Buyer's Edge in Bethesda, thinks the move will benefit sellers to the detriment of buyers.
"It does nothing but disguise the real, true condition of the property," said Sullivan, president-elect of the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents. "Your major brokers ... are not going to be going into history files to show the consumer anything because it would hurt their business. ... Their business is representing sellers."
In his opinion, the change creates a false sense of urgency. Agents can, as of tomorrow, honestly tell buyers that 123 Main Street just hit the market two days ago, so hurry up and offer the full asking price! -- even though 123 Main Street was also on the market for a long while with no bites until three months earlier.
What do you folks think?
Comments
First of all, realtors have never been honest about the time on the market anyway. I have seen houses listed as new on the market after being taken off the market for just a few days. This is just one more example of how dishonest, as a group, they can be. Buyer beware!
Posted by: Anon | February 14, 2008 5:59 PM
And now does everybody understand why you don't trust a vested interest sales person? It will be a great day when Realtors are exposed for the lies they tell.
Posted by: Kevin | February 14, 2008 7:35 PM
Obviously the two readers who commented above have had negative experiences with people in my profession, and for that I am truly sorry, but I hope that they reconsider when posting blanket statements about an entire profession. The vast majority of us are educated, honest, ethical people.
It is true that a listing has more "impact" when it is listed as NEW, and the property's history should absolutely (and will) be available to the public. Keep in mind, however that there are often new elements to the listing that warrant it being listed as new. A substantial price drop, renovations, or perhaps even a new broker are all potential reasons for the public to give the listing another look...it is the same house, yes, but there is NEW information. Quite often we have been hired to sell expired listings that a previous broker has been unable to sell. In a few instances, very little had been done to market the property effectively, the home was over-priced, and not adequately prepared for sale. If we then take the steps to appropriately price, adequately prepare and aggressively market the home, is it not truly a new listing?
Posted by: Brendan Cooke | February 15, 2008 9:12 AM
Days on Market seems to be the bane of listing agents (seller's agents)these days. I personally know a number of listing agents who are advocating that Days on Market information be eliminated from the MLS because it does not benefit their seller clients.
What about buyers? Isn't Days on Market material information? This is information which any serious buyer's agent should be providing to their client when trying to analyze the market value of a home.
To avoid the subterfuge being perpetrated by MRIS and the traditional real estate establishment, consumers who are buying ahome should make sure the agent they hire is representing their interests, and not the interests of the seller.
An exclusive buyer agent, who is a member of the National Ass'n of Exclusive Buyer Agents (www.naeba.com), takes no listings and never represents sellers, pledging their loyalty to their buyer clients exclusively, without conflicts of interest.
Posted by: Stefan Scholl | February 15, 2008 11:44 AM