Days on market redux and the listing agent show
April 7th, 2008 - Categories: Buying a home in the Dothan area, Real Estate News, Selling a home in the Dothan area
By: Charles Woodall
Managing Broker
http://www.dothanhomesearch.com
A couple of things that are on my mind as we start the week.
Jim Duncan had lunch with Dr. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist of The National Association of REALTORS, one day last week. Dr. Yun had some interesting comments on a lot of things, including the days on market statistic. Take a quick read of Jim’s post, paying particular attention to the part on this subject.
Jim and I agree on the irrelevance of days on market as a statistic, although for different reasons. Withdrawing and re-listing a property (Jim’s beef) to reset days on market to zero skews the data. I have been guilty of doing this, as have most REALTORS, reasoning that sometimes a listing needs a fresh start. Yes, that is gaming the system and shouldn’t be allowed. However, if you read my earlier post on this subject, I have come to feel that days on market should not be relevant to a buyer anyway, regardless of whether it is accurate or not.
Dr. Yun gives the impression he isn’t too keen on using DOM as a meaningful measure either.
Phil Hoover is another real estate blogger that I like. Phil blogs about the Boise, Idaho real estate market and posted this gem last week about listing agents auditioning for sellers.
Phil couldn’t be more right. Too many sellers think they are hiring the best agent when they hire one that will tell them what they want to hear. Look, you need to know exactly what is going on in the market if you want to have any chance at a sale. Are they telling you the real estate market in Dothan is down over 24% so far this year compared to last? Are they telling you what you need to do to get your home sold when competition for buyers’ attention is tougher than it has been in years? If they are, then you’ve likely snagged a good one. If they aren’t, you might want to look elsewhere.
Ok, now on with the week!
Possibly Related Posts
- Days on market is irrelevant
- Three reasons why some Dothan homes for sale sell quicker than others
- Monday Market Snapshot - August 25, 2008
This entry was posted on Monday, April 7th, 2008 at 7:28 am and is filed under Buying a home in the Dothan area, Real Estate News, Selling a home in the Dothan area. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
A good lesson to start the title search at the time of listing…long before closing! What a mess!
I agree, just because the right buyer hasn’t come along and the DOM are more than xxx days doesn’t mean the house has less value.