Every year, the real estate market starts slowing down a week before Thanksgiving and remains sluggish until at least the first week of January. The number of showings slows down or just stops, open house traffic is disappointing, and not much is happening in the way of home sales or even going under contract. So why not take your home off the MLS for at least 30 days to reset the DOM (days on market) counter?
That's a personal choice between you and your agent; every agent has a different opinion. I asked our agents this week what we were doing with our listings in this regard. Four of our listings have already been removed from the MLS for at least 30 days, seven remain on the MLS, and we're holding off adding several brand-new listings until early January. There is no right or wrong answer, but I'll give you some things to think about.
The Pros
- Convenience - Many sellers don't want to be bothered with holiday showings. They can enjoy their family time without worrying about calls to see their homes. They can relax and don't have to keep their homes ready for showings, which is perfectly understandable.
- Resetting the Days On Market - When a home is off the MLS for at least 30 days, the "days on market" counter resets to zero. When it's added back to the MLS, it appears as a new listing with zero days on the market. Will this "new listing" catch the eyes of someone who has been tracking the available homes themselves? Maybe, but it won't fool the agents with access to the MLS because they can see the complete history of the home. The public doesn't have access to that information, so if they missed the home before and then saw it for the first time, they could get excited about it.
The Cons
- Lost Exposure - The seller is running the risk of losing a potential buyer. The home just disappears and won't be seen again by the general public or agents until it hits the MLS again. Will that seller completely miss out on a buyer? It's impossible to say.
Other Things to Consider
- Less Competition in Winter - There are always fewer homes on the market during the winter months than the warmer months and that means there's less competition for all of those active listing. Agents usually understand a home with two months on market over December and January is completely different than two months on market in April and May.
- People Move Throughout the Year - People are buying and selling homes every month. I've driven to the title company for a closing on ice on new year's eve. Many times buyers don't have the choice when they move if it's a company relocation. They move when and where their company needs them.
- Milder Winters - I remember twenty or so years ago we had weeks on end of miserable weather. Day after day of ice, snow, frozen roads, and frigid temperatures. That doesn't make it enticing for buyers to go look at homes. However, our winters have become so mild, we enjoy beautiful days throughout the winter months so buyers are getting out more during the winter than ever.
- Limited Number of Buyers - The Fairview, Lucas, and Parker area (which is our wheelhouse) is a small area within the massive Dallas/Fort Worth sprawl. Many of the homes are on acreage and we don't have the multitude of homes you'll find in the high density developments of Plano, Allen and McKinney. Relatively speaking, there just aren't a lot of home sales in this area compared to cities closer in. Add to that, homes in this area have become so expensive, it limits the number of potential buyers even further. Without the large numbers of prospective buyers other cities enjoy, I don't want to take the chance of missing a single one.
So What's the Answer, Take Your Home Off the Market to Reset the DOM and Ride it Out?
I suggest talking to your agent and listening to what they have to say. There isn't a right or wrong, just what suits your personal circumstances.
I prefer to have my listings out there 24/7/365, but then again, I'm not the one living in the home. If a showing is scheduled at an inconvenient time, the seller can always decline or even take the home off the market for several days at a time.
Over the past couple of weeks, we've had three homes go into title. Two are our listings and one is not. None of those three transactions would have happened if those homes had not been on the market for agents to see.
The one thing I can say for sure is there will be many homes coming onto the market next month in January (including some of ours).
