What Does ‘Days on Market’ Mean and Why Should You Care?
You’re scrolling through Zillow on a Sunday afternoon, looking at homes in your neighborhood. You spot a decent-looking house with good bones and a reasonable price… but it’s been sitting for 180 days. Your first thought? “What’s wrong with it?”
That reaction isn’t unusual. Days on Market (DOM) is more than just a number—it shapes buyer perception, influences negotiations, and can make or break a sale. As a real estate professional here in Albuquerque, I’ve seen how this metric can work for you or against you, depending on how you handle it.
Let me walk you through what days on the market really means, why it matters so much to buyers, and what you can do when your listing starts collecting dust instead of offers.
What Is ‘Days on Market’ Exactly?
Days on Market is simply the number of days a property has been listed for sale on the MLS (Multiple Listing Service). The clock starts ticking from the moment your listing goes live and continues until you either sell the property or take it off the market.
Here’s what many sellers don’t realize: major listing platforms like Zillow, Realtor.com, and Homes.com pull this data automatically from the MLS. So every potential buyer who looks at your property can see exactly how long it’s been available.
Days on Market are important mostly for aesthetics. People are looking on Homes.com, they’re looking on Zillow, and all of those sites show how many days it’s been on the market. That visibility can work in your favor when you’re freshly listed or against you when the number keeps climbing.
In the broader real estate market, this visibility is a powerful influence. Whether you’re in a booming housing market or a slower season, knowing how long homes typically take to sell, sometimes referred to as the average DOM or days on market DOM, helps set expectations for buyers and real estate agents alike.
The DOM counter only resets under specific conditions, and this varies by local MLS rules. Here in the Albuquerque MLS, for example, a listing must be withdrawn for exactly 30 days before the Days on Market counter will reset.
Why High DOM Makes Buyers Nervous
Let’s be honest about buyer psychology. When the market is moving quickly, a listing that’s been sitting for three, four, or five months raises red flags, whether buyers realize it or not.
In a really hot market like we’ve seen in the last few years, if something’s been on the market for six months, most people, in their mind consciously or unconsciously are thinking, ‘Well, I wonder what’s wrong with the property,’
This reaction creates a domino effect:
- Urgency fades as buyers assume they have plenty of time to decide
- Perceived value drops as the property feels “stale”
- Negotiating leverage shifts heavily toward the buyer
- Other buyers start looking at newer deals instead
There are a few reasons why this happens, but the average days a home stays on the market still weighs heavily on decision-making. In a competitive market with strong buyer demand, a listing that lingers longer than the average number of days signals a problem.
The irony is that sometimes nothing is wrong with the property. But perception becomes reality in the real estate industry, and high DOM can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Two Likely Culprits: Price or Condition
After helping countless sellers navigate this challenge, I’ve learned that stalled listings usually come down to two main issues. Here’s my rule of thumb: if we have 10 people walk through your property and you don’t have an offer, it’s one of two things: it’s condition or price.
How to Know if It’s Price
If your home is move-in ready with updated finishes, good curb appeal, and solid bones, but you’re still not getting offers, price is likely the culprit. This is especially true if you’re getting plenty of showings but no bites.
Buyers today are well-informed. They’ve seen the comps, they know what similar homes sold for, and they can spot an overpriced listing from a mile away. When a particular listing sits despite being in good condition, it usually means the local market has already spoken about the list price.
In these cases, a price reduction can sometimes breathe new life into a listing. It also helps reposition your home against competitive prices in your particular area.
How to Know if It’s Condition
On the flip side, if your home has outdated finishes, worn carpeting, or poor curb appeal, condition might be holding you back. Sometimes it’s obvious like a kitchen stuck in 1985 or a front yard that looks abandoned. Other times, it’s subtler issues like poor staging, dated paint colors, or minor repairs that make the home feel neglected.
If I’m selling something that is in rough shape and we’re not getting any offers, maybe it’s time to do a little make-ready—maybe a little lipstick, paint, maybe some carpet. Just tune it up.
These relatively small investments can refresh buyer interest and help reduce DOM.
DOM Looks Different for Different Property Types
Not all properties are created equal when it comes to Days on Market expectations. Context matters tremendously.
Vacant land typically has the longest acceptable DOM. I often list vacant land for one-year increments because the buyer pool is smaller and the purchase decision timeline is longer. A lot sitting for eight months isn’t necessarily a red flag.
Residential homes face the highest scrutiny for extended DOM. Buyers expect these properties to move relatively quickly, especially in particular homes located in desirable neighborhoods. When a family home sits for months, it raises more questions than other property types.
Commercial properties fall somewhere in between. The buyer pool is smaller and the due diligence process is more complex, so longer DOM periods are more acceptable. A commercial building sitting for six months might be perfectly normal.
It’s also important to consider the cumulative days a listing has been on and off the market, not just the most recent segment of market time.
Understanding these differences helps set realistic expectations and prevents panic when your property doesn’t move as quickly as you’d hoped.
Can You Reset Days on Market?
Yes, you can reset Days on Market, but the process and effectiveness vary by location and situation.
In our Albuquerque MLS, it takes exactly 30 days to reset the Days on Market counter. So if a property has been on the market for six months with no action and it’s December 1st, I might suggest to the seller to take the month of December off. Everybody’s celebrating Christmas, and nobody’s really looking. Then we can reset the Days on Market and come back strong in January.
This strategy can make sense for several reasons:
- The holidays are naturally slow for real estate
- January brings fresh buyer activity
- You get to start over with a clean DOM slate
- It gives you time to address price or condition issues
However, there’s an important caveat: sophisticated brokers will dig deeper than the surface DOM number. The listing history still shows when the property was originally listed, when it was withdrawn, and when it came back on the market. Smart real estate agents will use this information in their research and negotiations.
DOM Tricks vs. Strategy: What Smart Real Estate Agents Actually Do
Let’s talk about the reality of DOM manipulation. While you can reset the counter, experienced professionals know how to look beyond the numbers.
A sophisticated broker is going to go into any property and look at the history. The history is going to show when it was listed, when it was taken off the market, when it was put back on the market, when the price was dropped.
What does this mean for you? DOM resets are mostly about managing public perception on consumer websites, not hiding information from serious parties involved in the sale. A sharp agent will:
- Research the complete listing history
- Use that information to understand the property’s challenges
- Leverage the knowledge in offer price negotiations
- Help their clients make informed decisions
Rather than relying on DOM tricks, the best selling strategy is to address the underlying issues that caused the high DOM in the first place.
When It’s Time to Act: Fix, Reprice, or Reset?
If your Days on Market are climbing and the phone isn’t ringing, it’s time for honest self-assessment. Here’s my systematic approach:
Step 1: Evaluate the condition
Look at your house through a buyer’s eyes. Review feedback from showings. Consider hiring a professional inspector to identify issues you might have missed. Sometimes small fixes can make a big difference.
Step 2: Check the numbers
Pull recent comparable sales and reassess your pricing strategy. Market conditions change, and your original list price might no longer be competitive. If the condition is quality and it’s still not selling, then the very next thing I’m going to look at is price.
Step 3: Consider timing
Are you in a seasonal slowdown? Would it make sense to take a break and re list when buyer activity picks up? This is particularly relevant during the holidays or in markets with strong seasonal patterns.
Step 4: Make the tough decisions
Generally speaking, I wouldn’t recommend taking your house off the market and putting it back on. Those are for special circumstances. But if you’re in a hot market and you’ve been on for three, four, five months with no action, it’s either price or condition. And I’m going to counsel you to either clean it up or drop the price.
Sometimes it’s not about your home at all; it’s simply lower demand compared to the previous year, or an unmotivated seller unwilling to act. The key is being responsive and honest about what the market refers to as normal activity, rather than waiting and hoping things will magically improve.
Turn Your DOM Challenge Into a Sales Opportunity
Days on Market doesn’t have to be a death sentence for your listing. With the right strategy, you can turn a challenging situation into a successful sale.
The most important thing is working with a realtor who isn’t afraid to tell you the truth and help you course-correct early. DOM is a metric, not the problem itself. By addressing the underlying factors, whether that’s price, condition, or timing, you can get your property back on track.
If your home’s been sitting longer than expected and you’re starting to feel the pressure, let’s talk. I’ll walk you through what’s working, what isn’t, and what buyers are really seeing when they look at your listing. Together, we can develop a strategy that gets you from “days on market” to “sold.”
Ready to Turn Your Listing Around?
If your home has been sitting longer than expected, don’t guess. Get expert advice. At Absolute Real Estate, we’ll help you evaluate what’s really holding your sale back and create a strategy that gets results.
Reach out today and let’s get your home sold.
