Sometimes home sellers try to sell their home themselves as an FSBO. They often stay in the market for months, simply because sellers don't have time to show the house because they're at work. A real estate agent may have taken over the listing when the FSBO stopped selling the house. Properties with a high DOM are commonly referred to as outdated listings, meaning that the house has been languishing on the market for a long time.
Depending on the specific characteristics of local real estate markets, experts consider that a house begins to become obsolete in three to five weeks and, in general, this causes one of two possible reactions. Some buyers think that those homes are a little polluted, while others believe that they will have more bargaining power and that they can get the house at the cost of a bargain. And of course, the bad photos in the ad can cloud buyers' opinions of the house before they even set foot in it. Shawn Breyer of Breyer House Buyers, in Atlanta, tells us that he has seen a lot of great homes that are simply overrated.
Once all current buyers have seen your home, it will be limited to the smaller population of new buyers entering the market. Finding a house with a high DOM that actually meets all your criteria might seem like finding a designer blouse at the bottom of a bargain bin, but don't get excited just yet. For example, Dolly Hertz, an associate real estate agent licensed by Engel %26 Völkers in New York, states that there is an accumulation of unsold inventory in the New York metropolitan market, both in the city and in the suburbs. Basically, if your goal is to recover every dollar you've spent on your home over the years, if you're not realistic about the market, or you make a series of other common pricing mistakes, you could run the risk that your house will remain unsold.
Another common strategy, as The Balance points out, is for your real estate agent to take your home off the market for a few weeks or months and then offer it again, possibly at a new, lower price. First of all, let's put an end to the myth that there's always something wrong with the house when it doesn't sell quickly. Homes generally sell faster in spring than in winter, especially in markets with snow and bad weather. This could restart your DOM counter and give buyers the impression that their home has just been released, although using the system is not considered the most ethical option.
A high DOM for a particular home in a strong seller's market with a low average DOM is a red flag for buyers, as it can lead them to believe that something is wrong with the house.
