Days on market (DOM)

Days on market is a count of how long a listing has been actively for sale. The MLS tracks it automatically, and the number is visible to other agents and (typically) to consumers on listing sites. DOM is one of the most-watched signals of how a listing is performing.

How it works: the count starts when the listing goes active in the MLS and stops when the property goes under contract. Some MLS systems reset the DOM count if a listing is taken off market and relisted, which sellers sometimes use strategically to refresh perceived freshness. Cumulative DOM (sometimes called CDOM) tracks all listing periods together and resists strategic relisting.

Why it matters: a listing on the market longer than the local average becomes harder to sell at any price. Buyers see the DOM number and assume something is wrong (overpriced, hidden issue, owner difficulty). The longer the listing sits, the deeper the discount typically required to move it. In active markets where most homes sell within 14 to 30 days, a listing approaching 60+ days carries a meaningful penalty regardless of underlying property quality.

Common gotcha: sellers and listing agents sometimes pull a stale listing and relist it to reset the DOM count. The tactic works in some MLS systems but not others, and buyer's agents can usually pull cumulative DOM history through their MLS access. Buyers looking at properties with surprisingly low days on market should ask whether the listing has been refreshed, since a relisted property may have been on market much longer than the displayed count suggests.