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How long, is too long, on the market?
I've heard people say a listing is old or stale or that's it's been on the market too long. I'd assume those are house's which likely get reduced in price or possibly would be willing to negotiate a bit more liberally. But how long is too long? I'm sure all markets are different and year to year may change. But is there a generally accepted rule of thumb anyone can offer?
Ty
I think it varies a lot with the geographic area and the market. A few years ago, in toronto it would not be in common for 20-40 days on market to be the average range. However currently the market is so hot, I've seen listings this month sell within 1,2,3 days on market. And currently if something is on the market for longer than 20 days (other than being $2m +) people will assume it is either overpriced or something is wrong. Or less likely the financing (mortgage) fell through.
That being said, not sure if people would agree with me but 40 days + is probably starting to get stale. And at maybe 2 months - 60 days it's definitely been sitting.
However, just because they have Been sitting. Doesn't mean they are going to be reduced. I've seen people list around 800-900k in some area last year in oct. they wanted to get 900+. Waiter and waited till January. And they got their money.
Hope this helps a little.
60 days? Wow that's a lower number than I thought. thank you
Marty,
I think it all depends on the area and if people are actually looking in that area. Right now it is Spring, this is the time most people look for a new house. Not every house is a perfect fit for everyone. Some people will not like a house because of the interior paint color or the carpet, that does not make it a bad house, but people get turned off by that. If a house is staged to sell, I think it should sell within the first couple of weeks of being listed. 60 days is long but I wouldn't consider it stale, just a possible opportunity to get a better price. I think you will get a better price if the house is over 100 days, that's usually a little over midway of a Realtors contract and they will be trying to convince the seller to sell at a lower price, just so they can get the sale.
@Marty Gold , it is location specific, but even sub-location as well. And it is compared to the other homes on the market at that time. So my area is super hot, and everything sells within a week. 2 weeks is a long time to be listed. A home down the street was significantly overpriced and sat on the market for more than 180 days before being pulled right before Christmas.
When I sold a house on a lake a few years ago, lake houses would sit for months - even years - before selling. Those listings didn't become stale, because they had a specific - and very small - market.
Marty Gold While each market has their own ecosystem, average days on market, etc. I think 60 days is when you're stale. Even if it was listed higher before I start to make the assumption (it's not scientific or fair) that something about the property is unappealing. Especially if I follow the market and other homes have gone under contract or have been sold. So, to me, that means I won't offer full-ask at the new lower price. My rationale is that if someone else was tracking the property and like it at the new price they'll have an offer in the day the Trulia notification hits. If it hits 90 days it's even worse.
To Mindy Jensen 's point I see a lot of vacation style properties on the market forever. It might as well be a "Make Me Move" price. In my personal experience those homes always look competitive to other listed home properties, they you look at sold comps and realize it's $100K-off. That's not hyperbolic, it's actually happened. It's even worse when the realtor tries to use listed prices as a justification 😬
Originally posted by @Mindy Jensen:
@Marty Gold , it is location specific, but even sub-location as well. And it is compared to the other homes on the market at that time.
That's very helpful. Thank you. Do I need an agent to gather info for me on other homes in the market or can zillow/realtor.com be trusted for more of a DIY approach?
Originally posted by @Andrew Johnson:
Especially if I follow the market and other homes have gone under contract or have been sold.
Do you need the MLS to follow the market? Can this be done with free places like zillow or other such places?
@Marty Gold I'm pretty sure that Realtor.com pulls directly from MLS. I'm not 100% sure so don't bank on that. However, I do think MLS will keep more detailed records if you were looking to pull info on sold comps. Realtors can chime in on that one. At the very least you can track price reductions and days-on-market for specific properties on (most of) the free services.
I'm looking at a duplex that has been on the market for roughly 3.8 years. I just found out it's part of an estate which is why they are trying to sell it. It looks like they replaced the roof in November, and raised the price $20,000 (roughly $15,000 over tax assessment). Should I lowball an offer for this place, or do you think I would be offending the owners?