Should Listing Age Affect Your Home Buying Search?
One of the interesting aspects of real estate is to listen to the way home buyers go about their search. Buyers will often have completely opposite views on what areas of an MLS listing is important. One that is often discussed is that of listing age.
Some buyers like to look at homes that have been on the market for a long time - their rationale is that homes that have a long listing history may be more willing to negotiate on a sales price. Other buyers feel that long listing histories indicate that a home may have problems. The reality of home buying is that both of these approaches could be right – or they could be wrong.
Listing age is not a good indication of either quality or a sellers approach to negotiate. In fact, a home may be on the market for a long time because the seller refuses to negotiate. Likewise, there are some excellent homes on the market at present that have been listed for a long time.
The home buying market is very fickle. Some neighborhoods will see high demand for a particular style of home – a three or four bedroom, for example – while other homes that don’t meet that criteria are totally unwanted. The market is so fickle that in two months the reverse could be true.
Rather than using age listings as a criteria for making home buying decisions, use the criteria that is really important to your needs. Price, size, location, and special needs should be your primary criteria. Who knows? You may find two homes you love – one that has been on the market for two years and one that was listed yesterday. The outcome for either could be the same when it comes to condition and the seller’s willingness to negotiate.
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June 10th, 2011 at 5:48 am
Listings that have been on the market for longer than a normal amount of time are simply priced too high. As a buyer, why would you want to waste time negotiating with a seller who is starting from an unrealistic price.