Over my past 15 years in real estate, one of the most common questions I have been asked at open houses is:

“How long has the property been on the market?”

If I it’s more than 60 days, and comparable homes in the same area are going under contract within 15–20 days, the next question is almost always:

“Why hasn’t it sold?”

That question matters. Today’s buyers are sophisticated, informed, and highly data-driven. They have access to Redfin, Zillow, AI tools, listing history, price changes, comparable sales, and neighborhood data.

In many cases, buyers have already researched the property before they ever walk through the front door. They may already know how long it has been listed, whether the price has been reduced, and how it compares with nearby homes.

That is why understanding Days on Market, or DOM, is so important when selling a home.

But I do not believe DOM should ever be viewed as just one number. A home that has been on the market for 30 days may already feel stale in one neighborhood. In another price range or market cycle, 30 days may be completely normal.

So the better question is not simply:

“How many days has this home been on the market?”

The better question is:

“What does this DOM mean in today’s market?”

If I am analyzing a home worth approximately $2 million in Arcadia, I do not look at one average number. I look at the market from several different perspectives.

Last 3 Months: What Are Buyers Doing Right Now?

The most recent three months are important because they show me what is happening in the market today. I want to understand:

How many competing homes are available for sale?

How quickly are similar homes going under contract?

How often are sellers reducing prices?

Which homes are selling?

Which homes are still sitting on the market and why?

Last 12 Months: What Is Normal for This Market?

Real estate is seasonal. Buyer activity in the spring may look very different from buyer activity during the holidays or at the end of the year. That is why I also look at a full 12 months of data.

A larger sample helps me determine whether today’s DOM is truly unusual or simply part of a normal seasonal pattern. I do not want to recommend a major pricing change simply because the market slowed for a few weeks. I want to understand the larger context first.

Previous 2–4 Years: Has the Market Changed?

Mortgage rates may have changed. Buyer affordability may have changed. Inventory may have changed. Buyer confidence may have changed. Negotiating behavior may have changed. Sometimes the property has not changed at all.

The market around the property has.

That is why I do not use the speed of the market from three years ago as the standard for how a home should perform today.

This Is Where DOM Becomes a Pricing Decision

Suppose comparable $2 million homes in Arcadia sold in an average of 18 days three years ago, but similar homes today are taking 35–45 days.

A seller whose property has been listed for 40 days may feel that the home is “sitting.” But based on current data, the property may actually be performing very close to the market.

In that situation, I would not recommend a price reduction simply because the seller feels uncomfortable with the number of days on market. But the conversation changes if comparable homes today are going under contract within 20–25 days and one listing reaches 60 days with:

Very few private showings,

No serious offers,

No second showings,

And repeated buyer feedback that the price feels too high.

At that point, I am no longer simply looking at DOM.

I Am Looking at Buyer Behavior

I want to know:

How many private showings have we had?

Are buyers coming back for second showings?

Are they requesting disclosures?

Are their agents continuing the conversation?

What objections are buyers repeating?

Are competing homes selling while ours remains active?

These signals often tell me more than simply saying:

“The average DOM is 32 days.”

Because in my experience,

DOM is not just a statistic. DOM is a record of buyer behavior.

It can tell us whether the market is accepting the price. It can tell us whether buyers are recognizing the property’s value. It can tell us whether the marketing strategy is generating the right response. And it can tell us how the property is performing relative to the competition.

So when I discuss DOM with a seller, I do not simply say:

“The average Days on Market is 32 days.”

I want to explain:

What does that 32-day average mean for this specific property?

Is the current pricing strategy working?

Is the marketing attracting the right buyers?

And if the market is not responding the way we expected, what should we adjust next?

The goal is not simply to calculate an average Days on Market.

The goal is to understand the buyer behavior behind that number and make the right decision when the market gives us a signal.