Days on market, the clock may start fresh
So you're searching for homes for sale in Charleston and you see this nice home that appears to be a new listing. After all, you may have noticed it though a listing alert and it does sport a fresh new number but how many days has it really been on the market.
Over 500 homes listed for sale were either withdrawn or the listing expired on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day. There were probably that many or more that were taken off the market since Thanksgiving only to come back on the market as January unfolds.
And Charleston real estate agents will be busy over the next few days entering the listing again to get that all important fresh number beginning with "29" which indicates the listing was entered in the Charleston MLS during 2009 and isn't a stale old listing from 2008.
Now if you call the listing agent who represents the seller and the seller's best interests and ask how long the home has been on the market, they can tell you that it was just listed a few days ago. But if you call a buyer's agent who will represent your interests, they can tell you something like the house was originally listed in late 2007 or early 2008, this is the third agent who has listed the property and the price has been reduced several times.
Days on market may [or may not] matter. But getting accurate information certainly does.
Photo courtesy of Flickr by BrittneyBush.