The Macomb County Michigan Real Estate Blog

How much is that doggie in the window? How long has he been for sale?

Why do we cage our seller in when we list their property on the MLS? Would our sellers bite us if they knew? I think they would bark if they read the listing and questioned us. I, as a REALTOR®, am tried of rolling over on this issue.

The issue that I find harmful to our sellers is displaying their confidential days on market. The role of the REALTOR® is to work to promote the best interest of their client, the seller (Article 1 of the code of ethics). Is telling the buyer agent in an easy to calculate display, working to the best of our client? I think not. Our duty to the client is to obtain "top" dollar for them. The fiduciary duty is to our client, the seller. Without the seller, there would not be a MLS as we know it. (The "L" in MLS stands for listings.)

Do sellers know and understand that once their property is inputted into the MLS it starts a history? A history that is detrimental to them. Do we as listing Brokers, tell/explain this to sellers? In any market, buyers or sellers, the listing which has the best chance of selling is one that has NO history. This type of listing is known as a "virgin" listing, a property listing that has never been listed before on the MLS.

Do sellers of any other product, property or merchandise openly and freely disclose how long they have been trying to sell it? Do car sellers/dealers, does Macy's, does eBay, does the local pet store, and does the FSBO seller? DOM disclosure is not necessary as a FSBO. Perhaps sellers should remain a FSBO? If a seller tried selling FSBO before an agent listed it, should those DOM during the FSBO period be disclosed?

DOM is primarily a function of supply and demand. DOM is an artificial number. DOM is a flexible number. DOM is a magical number. It is a magical number which tells buyers if they should even look at the property, if it has a hidden problem and even how much a buyer should offer for it. DOM is NOT necessary in order for the buyer to make a decision. If this is/was crucial why don't we publish it on public and IDX websites?

DOM is a function of price.

DOM only works against the seller.

Why isn't the pending price that a seller accepted posted on the MLS? Why wait until the closing to reveal it?

Do sellers have a basis for a class action lawsuit against the MLS and listing Brokers?

Who's interest is the listing Broker working for? Theirs or their client, the seller?

What is the value of showing/knowing the days on market of a particular listing? 

I am not sure if the days on market field should be captured and published on each listing?

I am starting to believe that the days on market field should be totally removed from all types of listings posted on the MLS, immediately.

A few of the important reasons are as follows

•    Would any MLS exist without listings?

•    The "L" in MLS stands for Listing.

Shouldn't the MLS work in the best interest of our client the seller?

Would there be any buyer brokers using the MLS, if there weren't listings?

•    Why does the MLS protect the pending price?

•     The MLS protects the sellers pending "sold" price until it closes, yet freely reveals the sellers position regarding DOM. Why? Isn't this working against the seller's best interest?

Shouldn't another broker (buyer broker) who may have a buyer for the property, be aware of what price the seller accepted in the pending offer, just in case the 1^st deal fell through? The buyer broker client may want to offer a higher price as a back up offer?

•    If potential buyers feel this data is important information, why limit this data to MLS displays? "True/correct" data is valuable. Why is the MLS limiting displaying this field on the public IDX display? Why is this information limited to brokers who have the "key" the MLS?

•    Listings are routinely forwarded to many web sites. If DOM is such an important number, why isn't the active/cumulative DOM forwarded to Google, Homeseekers, REALTOR.com etc.?

•    Isn't this bordering on breaching our fiduciary duty to our client the seller? Did the seller agree in the listing contract to have their selling position (DOM) posted on their listing?

•    Is there a possible class action lawsuit waiting to be filed by sellers against the MLS?

•    Could offices that have agent floor time be more at risk? An agent reading the listing display, may quickly disclose the sellers position (DOM), when asked by the caller. Is this not breaching the fiduciary duty all Michigan agents have? Aren't agents, by default, representing the seller in void of a buyer agency agreement?

•    Many MLS's offer a choice to the Broker whether to display their listings on other web sites (such as Google, Realtor.com etc"). Shouldn't a Broker Owned MLS, allow the Broker, the choice if they want this confidential information (their sellers DOM) published to the MLS agent population? The DOM should not be displayed if the Listing Broker so chooses. Default off unless requested by the Listing Broker.

•    Listing brokers and buyer brokers will still be able to determine a value of a property based on recent sales prices, recent expired prices and counting the active competition. This is called "supply & demand" economics 101.

•    Isn't DOM a number in determining a properties value, just like the SEV of a property is? A number that's available but not the only way to determine a value.

•    Removing the DOM field on each listing would reduce the number of agents deleting and re-listing their property. No reason to keep doing this if there was no clock to re-set.

•    Publishing the days on market merely gives the buyer a reason to offer a lower price to our client. The buyer doesn't know or care about the days on market. If the property is listed for "X" number of days, is this too short of a time or too long? Or just about right? Either way the buyer will still try to negotiate a lower price.

•    We all know that a property sells because of one reason. Price. If there is an abundance of similar properties for sale, the seller must reduce their price.

•    The best type of new listing is a "virgin" listing, one that has never been listed before on the MLS. (No history).

•     Perhaps removing the DOM field would lead to buyers making an offer if they like the property, regardless of what the DOM is. If the seller gets an offer, perhaps it will sell. If it sells, perhaps prices in Metro Detroit will become stronger? Who knows? It may start to turn things around? Even in a sellers market, removing DOM is a good thing for the MLS's, client the seller.

There are many more reasons. I believe in providing a history report for any property. DOM data shouldn't be and doesn't have to be one of the fields collected and distributed. This field serves no purpose or value for the seller, my client, our client, and our sellers.

Other posts about days on market

Days on market, does it matter?

How much is that doggie in the window?

Can any MLS exist without Listing Brokers?

Refresher: What does the acronym MLS stand for? Multiple Listing Service.

Is your MLS working for the best interest of the seller by posting the number of days the sellers property has been on the market?

Question: What came first? The chicken or the egg? I say the chicken. The chicken I speak about is the Listing Broker. The egg is what the Buyer Broker gets when they sell a listing posted on the MLS.

Would any MLS exist without Listing Brokers? I say NO!

What would happen to your MLS if there were no listings entered by a listing broker?

First of all, there would be no reason for a buyer broker to use the MLS. There would be no data to search.

Does your MLS assist the listing broker? The MLS should. The MLS should promote the best interest of the seller first. Without the seller, there would be no commission paid to any broker. No offer to compensate the buyer broker or sub agent. Without the seller negotiating compensation with the listing broker, the MLS as we know it would not exist.

Is your MLS working for the best interest of the seller by posting their number of days on market? As a listing broker looking to promote the best interest of the seller, can you really explain this logic? How does posting it, let alone collecting it help the seller? Is it a tool we use to bust the seller down on their price? Is it a way that the buyer uses to offer a lower price? I say yes!

As a buyer broker, when was the last time a buyer asked for pricing and how many days on the market and you told them a price and DOM they thought was perfect? I bet it has never happened. What really happens is that the buyer asks, we explain what comparable homes have sold for in the past and at what price. Buyers in my market know that it takes a while for a property to sell. It's no secret. The DOM doesn't matter if the price is right.

My local Broker owned MLS, MiRealsource, has decided without asking its shareholders, to post the cumulative Days on Market on all listings dating back 5 years. The cumulative DOM, in our market, averages over 400 days using this "new" technique. Is this working in the best interest the seller? Or just reflecting "true" information. I say that in order to slow the downward pricing pressure in the Detroit Market, the MLS should cease collecting and publishing the number of days on market. It does not help convince the seller to lower their price. Competition does. The number of properties coming on the market this spring is increasing. Many sellers are in a near foreclosure situation and cannot reduce.

Does publishing the DOM aid the buyer agent? I believe so. It fuels the theory the property is "over priced" because it has been on the market "X" number of days. And who knows if "X" amount of days is too much or just about right?

View my previous post on this topic.

Other posts about days on market

Days on market, does it matter?

How much is that doggie in the window?

So I ask again, Can any MLS exist without Listing Brokers?