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In the last 6 months, the average property listed with the Toronto Real Estate Board was on the market for 25.7 days – in real estate lingo, we call that 25.7 DOM – days on the market. Whether you’re a Buyer or a Seller, you need to understand the importance of DOM. Here’s why:
- How long a property sits on the market is affected by 3 things:
- How well a property ‘SHOWS’ – how clean it is, whether or not it’s staged, how flexible the owner is in allowing prospective Buyers to see it;
- How well a property is MARKETED – the more exposure a home gets, the more likely you are to find the right Buyer;
- How well a property is PRICED – anything will sell when the price is right
- DOM is also affected by the price bracket of the house or condo – luxury homes take longer to sell because the market for $1 Million + homes is smaller.
- Buyers teach Sellers about the price of their house – if it’s on the market longer than average, Buyers have sent Sellers a message: Your price is too high. The longer a house sits on the market, the more room there is for negotiation.
- The faster a house sells, the higher the price. This chart illustrates what happens to the sale price of a house as time goes by:
- In the last 6 months, how long a property sat on the market varied greatly depending on the brokerage it was listed with – for example, properties listed with my brokerage, sold in an average of 16. 7 days (brag, brag) – some brokerages averaged 52 days.
So what are the lessons for Buyers and Sellers?
- SELLERS: Price your home right from the start – and make sure you’re working with a brokerage who invests in the marketing needed to sell your home FAST. You’ll feel it in your pocketbook.
- BUYERS: If you’re looking for a deal, look for a higher-than-average DOM – there’ll be room to negotiate.
