ShareIn the monthly REALTORS® Confidence Index Survey, the National Association of REALTORS® asks members “For the last house that you closed in the past month, how long was it on the market from listing time to the time the seller accepted the buyer’s offer?”
Properties that sold in December 2016–February 2017 were typically on the market for less than 31 days in Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Utah, Nebraska, Kentucky, Tennessee, and the District of Columbia, according to the February 2017 REALTORS® Confidence Index Survey Report, a monthly survey of REALTORS® about their sales activity and local market conditions.[1] Local conditions vary, and the data is provided for REALTORS® who want to compare local markets against other states and the national summary.[2]
Looking at the values over the last few years, in most states the median length of time that properties stay on the market has trended downwards, though the graphs also show that days on market in some states fluctuate seasonally.[3]
Properties stayed on the market for fewer days in February 2017 compared to one year ago, amid strong demand and tight supply. Nationally, properties sold in February 2017 were typically on the market for 45 days (50 days in January 2017; 59 days in February 2016).[4] The length of time properties are on the market has fallen as demand has outpaced the inventory of homes for sale. In 2011, properties were typically on the market for 97 days.
Nationally, 42 percent of properties that sold in February 2017 were on the market for less than a month (38 percent in January 2017; 35 percent in February 2016).[5] Only nine percent of properties were on the market for six months or longer (11 percent in January 2017; 15 percent in February 2016).
[1]The author thanks Danielle Hale, Managing Director, Housing Research; Meredith Dunn, Research Communications Manager; and Amanda Riggs, Research Survey Analyst for their comments. Any errors are attributable to the author.
[2] There is only one observation for Alaska so the median days on market cannot be calculated.
[3]To increase the number of observations for each state, NAR uses data from the last three surveys. The selected states shown in these charts are those with approximately 150 observations.
[4]The survey asks,“For the last house that you closed in the past month, how long was it on the market from listing time to the time the seller accepted the buyer’s offer?” The median is the number of days at which half of the properties stayed on the market. In generating the median days on market at the state level, NAR uses data for the last three surveys to have close to 30 observations. Small states such as AK, ND, SD, MT, VT, WY, WV, DE, and D.C., may have fewer than 30 observations.
[5] Days on market usually refers to the time from listing date to contract date.