🏡Why Homes Are Sitting Longer on the Market — And What It Really Means
If you’ve been browsing listings lately, you may have noticed something different: homes are sitting on the market longer than they have in recent years. In fact, the average Days on Market (DOM) has now climbed past 60 days nationwide. But before jumping to conclusions, let’s break down what this really means—and why it’s not necessarily a red flag.
⏳ Longer DOM Doesn’t Mean Something’s “Wrong”
Buyers often assume that if a home hasn’t sold quickly, there must be something wrong with it. But in today’s market, that’s rarely the case. The truth is, we’re in the middle of a price correction.
Over the past few years, home prices surged due to low inventory and high demand. But now, with interest rates stabilizing and more inventory returning, the market is recalibrating. Homes that were priced based on last year’s highs are simply not aligned with today’s buyer expectations.
💰 Pricing Is Everything
Real estate pricing is based on comparable sales—homes that sold recently in the same area. But if homes aren’t selling, those comps become outdated fast. That’s why adjusting the price is often the key to getting a home sold.
A home that sits on the market without a price change is a strong indicator that the initial price was too high. It’s not about the condition or location—it’s about aligning with current market realities.
🧭 Time Can Be a Clue, But Not the Whole Story
Sometimes, time on the market is influenced by seasonal trends, buyer behavior, or even marketing strategy. But more often than not, price is the biggest factor. If a home has been listed for weeks or months without movement, it’s time to revisit the pricing strategy.
🏷️ Today’s Price ≠ Last Year’s Price
One of the hardest truths for sellers to accept is that a home’s value today isn’t what it was a year ago—especially if no updates have been made. Buyers are more cautious, and they’re comparing every dollar spent to what they can get elsewhere.
🔍 Bottom Line for Buyers and Sellers
We’re in a shifting market, and understanding these dynamics can help you make smarter, more confident decisions—whether you’re buying, selling, or both.
I’m licensed in Maryland and California. Areas I cover are Los Angeles county and Orange County in
California. In Maryland I cover Prince George, Ann Arundel, Charles, Howard, Montgomery counties.
If you have put buying a home on hold or decided to not buy, the buyers market is back. The shift is here and from my experience previewing properties. One occasion, I accidentally meet the home owners. They wanted to know what buyers were looking for or how was the market. That interact solidified what I was thinking. It’s been a buyers market for a little while now. I had been doing a weekly handful of home previews in my area to study the market and the neighborhoods.
This home I scheduled to see and preview. I noticed the photos of this one home on the market was so so. I thought it was interesting and had good qualities but maybe the photos weren’t that good. It had interesting qualities like an inner court surrounded by windows and sliding doors of the house. It was a ranch that went almost in a square shape.
The front door was glass french doors. I could see the owners were home. The wife answered the door and introduced herself. She was very nice. Luckily I had my makeup on and had a cute outfit on. I was planning on making a video for self marketing. Any who, they were very nice let me in to make my video and they sat in the court. The landscaping was well manicured and the home had really nicely remodeled bathrooms, the kitchen wasn’t exactly my taste but reminded me of the kitchen I had living in Italy.
When I was done with my videos I called my husband to do a video call to show him the house. I was actually really there for myself and us to buy. Then I went out and meet with the owners and told them how nice their house was and that the photos didn’t do it justice. Then the floodgates poured out of them to tell me all about the house. Well, the wife, her husband didn’t want her to say to much but she said everything they did to the house and said she changed the bathroom twice and her husband said the doors in the kitchen were original and the front door was their before they moved in. The wife showed me the best features of the home, which was that every window had a picturesque view and she was right. Even the front door was nice because you could see through it being that it was all glass but you don’t see another neighbor because view across the street was a hillside.
We talked about buyers and what they were looking for. I asked where they were moving and why. They said they were retired and needed to down size and that they were planning to move to Palm Springs to be with a community of people their age group. They found themselves in the position of being a buyer not wanting to do another fixer home but just wanting to move in. I said that’s what a lot of other buyers feel as well. The difference is new buyers don’t have the equity that older or more experienced buyers have. These sellers had the luxury to purchase a turn key home but the similarity they do have with the new in line buyers is the interest rate and the tax bracket that all new buyers are positioned in.
Being a seller, to now a buyer; they face similar obstacles. The dilemma of lack of inventory, high prices, higher interest rates and not move in homes. This causes more homes to stay on the market this time around because the buyers are tired of the rat race and are pushed against the wall with affordability of housing, food and worry of their job stability. This all now causes the shift of the market to be in a buyers market again after over a decade of it being a sellers market. As said on CNN, According to a survey released Wednesday by Bank of America, 75% of prospective homebuyers are waiting for home prices and interest rates to fall.”
“Based upon previous spring selling seasons, I have noticed a lot of listings are sitting longer on the marketplace (this year),” Pohl said. “I think there are a lot of sellers who still have really ambitious pricing for their homes, and it may be time to get realistic with their pricing in order to be competitive in the marketplace.”
Pohl said she has started to see more sellers offering concessions or price cuts on their homes.
The days of multiple offers above a home’s asking price and rapidly rising home prices that defined the post-pandemic housing demand boom may now be in the rearview mirror for many cities across the US. Although home prices are still climbing, Redfin’s head of economics research, Chen Zhao, told CNN that the company estimates a 1% drop in home prices by the end of this year.
“Generally, the ratio of sellers to buyers seems to be a predictor for home price growth, but with a lag of about three to six months,” Zhao said.
Prices have dropped steadily, and homes stay on the market longer causing buyers to wait it out. Waiting for the interest rates to drop and waiting for a better price to bargain. Most buyers are probably still feeling the anxiety of the overbidding wars and don’t even want to bother. This has caused a standstill and sellers are looking around wondering what gives. More and more houses come on the market and more and more homes stay on the market trying to hold out and wait for the dollar amount they want but the buyers market is back.
I’m licensed in Maryland and California. Areas I cover are Los Angeles county and Orange County in
California. In Maryland I cover Prince George, Ann Arundel, Charles, Howard, Montgomery counties.
https://join.homeactions.net/signup/DianaDouglas
I hear people say they’re not ready yet. There not ready to buy or their not ready to sell yet. Without asking to many questions I leave the conversation with so many tools that I want to share. I’m not sure which ones could be helpful and often think that person has it under control. I check in a few months later and they are in the same place. Time has gone on. I see I didn’t do my job and provide the help to get them ready for their transaction property sale. Realtors are connected to other realtors by brokerages or by social media private networking. Even information in another area like relocating to a new town, state even country is something a realtor can help makes things easier. It’s important to get ready to be ready to sell your home and that involves research and brainstorming with a real estate professional.
I’m licensed in Maryland and California. Areas I cover are Los Angeles county and Orange County in
California. In Maryland I cover Prince George, Ann Arundel, Charles, Howard, Montgomery counties.
