Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It's not "always" the Realtors fault. If the client asks for it and it is allowed then the agent must do it as long as it is ethical and legal. Is it sometimes an agent's attempt to deceive? Absolutely. In that case, it is not ethical.
Maybe there should be a new category called TDOM meaning total days on the market. Then if the seller took a hiatus it would not appear that 'there must be something wrong with the house' when indeed it was just the timing for the seller. In this case the home is a secondary home. Does that make a difference?
In my MLS, we have created EXACTLY this field. Unfortunately, it is not in use yet, as the programmers are still working on the best way to go back through already listed properties and make sure the number shown in that field will be accurate. For all properties listed after the date the field was instituted, it shouldn't be an issue.
The fact of the matter is that for any individual property, it really shouldn't matter. As several people have pointed out, it's a simple thing, and for most of us a normal part of what we do, to "research" the total time that property has been on the market. We feel it's important for market and marketing statistics, so we want to make sure it's as accurate as possible.
Why is it always the Realtors fault? There are many reasons why a home is on and off the market at various times. The Realtor will do what is requested by the seller, and whatever the sellers' reasons are, they respect that. The public will usually blame the Realtor because they don't know the background of the listing or the sellers' circumstances. If the seller wants to make it "look like" a new listing, then it is the seller who is fooling the consumer; and usually it is the seller who has something to hide.
If there are agents whose aim it is to fool consumers, their tactics are well known to the professionals who are honest. In most MLS systems, any agent can track the history of the property if need be. Most savvy agents already know the history of certain properties in their service areas as to the "why and when" of on and off the market because they deal with the stats every day and share information with other agents.
Intentionally misleading people as to the time a property has been on the market is no one's fault but the real estate agent's. Regardless of the reason(s) for a property not selling quickly, playing with the system to make it appear that the property has been on the market for a shorter time that it actually has been is a deceitful practice, and one for which only the listing real estate agent can be held responsible
Well, legally and ethically, agents are held to a higher standard.
Setting expectations of deportment with clients is important. Lazily and sneakily "Following legal instructions of the client" is used to justify a LOT of crappy behavior.
Willful manipulation of public or private MLS data "in service to a client" truly reveals the agent's skill and ethical perspective.
Of course I agree with the above as to legalities and ethics! Agents should not allow the seller to attempt to manipulate MLS data. I didn't elaborate enough on a professional agent's ethics. I said that the unethical agents are well known to their peers. (Do we know whether or not the OP who does not have a user profile is an agent, a buyer, or a seller? Why does he/she ask a question about days on market to begin with? and why the question about a difference if it is a secondary home? is the OP looking for advice from agents in order to manipulate DOM? )
I did not say or suggest that agents justify crappy behavior by hiding behind "following legal instructions of the client". It is encumbent upon the educated agent to know the MLS rules and the legalities of his/her actions. If a client asks an agent to do something illegal or unethical, then it is high time for the agent to end the relationship and mutually withdraw the listing. The same applies if the client asks for a "kickback" on the agent's commission, a/k/a paycheck.
To paint all agents with a broad brush of being lazy or sneaky because a listing is withdrawn, however, is not fair to the diligent and honest agents. I also don't agree that 90% of agents are "hobbyists" as posted in another thread.
Last edited by QuilterChick; 11-18-2012 at 10:27 AM..
These replies have been very interesting, so I thank you all. DOM apparently provides an opportunity for buyers and their agents to jump to conclusions. Let's assume the house is in perfect condition and priced reasonably. What are the reasons that a long DOM might accumulate? Well, perhaps the selling agent is not very aggressive. Perhaps Sandy got in the way. Perhaps the community has no big companies and no relocation site opportunities. Perhaps someone was ill and did not want the house shown for a while. Perhaps there were house guests over Thanksgiving and Christmas. Meanwhile, it appears that buyers start thinking the house has a major flaw, is over priced, or some such thing. I saw a house on Zillow that was sale for over a year. It was realy cute, in a mountain location, but not in a good spot for commuting. I'm guessing nothing was wrong with it but the elderly owners were wanting to move closer to hospitals etc.
So, the bottom line is that people are always willing to think the worst. While DOM is great for statistical purposes, I am beginning to think it can be a misleading indicator. However, given that public opinion is so strong on this point, I am guessing that it would be better to just let the numbers keep running to avoid the stigma of someone being "sneaky".
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
