How Days On Market (DOM) Affect Home Sales

Days On Market can affect the home sale and indicate an incorrect List Price at the outset. While we are seeing many properties sell in days at, or above asking, there are as many properties that do not sell.  Home owners are advised to think carefully when evaluating their Listing Price.

Set The Right List Price 

Although it can be tempting to “test the market” by setting a high asking price, it is not the most effective strategy, especially in a hot market like Vancouver. Potential buyers are far more likely to shop for homes that are priced reasonably in relation to the “comps,” homes of similar size, age and amenities in the same or a similar neighbourhood.

Don’t forget that most sales begin online; potential buyers can, with a simple click, navigate away from a specific listing in favour of another that has a more realistic price, more appealing photographs or a more complete description. You want to generate showings in order to prompt offers.

Statistics reflect an increase in sales prices over the last several months, but you have to also consider “Sold” numbers for the past year in relation to “Days on Market” to determine your initial listing price. Additional information to have in your arsenal is the relationship between listing price and selling price, and complete details on current listings.

Setting a listing price is not an exact science, but by arming yourself with the facts, you can make an informed decision and increase your odds for a timely sale.

Some Results of Over – Pricing 

Here are just six of the disappointments you’ll find with an overpriced house:

• A buyers’ response to your listing will probably be slow, since they most likely recognize overpricing. Remember, people buy by comparing like homes, and if they are working with a buyer’s agent, the agent is giving them recent statistics.
• Buyers who are interested may be the wrong ones because they’re looking for a home priced the same as yours – but with MORE features.   You’ll be missing the buyers who could and/or would buy your house.
• Your overpriced home will help buyers make a decision on other homes that are priced fairly. You’ll be the homeowner that sells your neighbour’s home.
• Very few buyers will even make an offer on an overpriced home. Even in a seller’s market like we see today [low inventory with healthy demand] buyer’s are sensitive to over paying.
• After your house has been on the market for several months, buyers will notice the number of days on market and may assume there is something wrong with your house.  After a house becomes “stale” in the psychology of buyers’ thinking, the seller will most likely end up lowering the price to a point less than they could have gotten if they’d priced the home correctly when first listed.  This is called chasing the market down.
• If you do find a buyer at your price, the appraisal still has to work; the house has to appraise for the contracted price, or the mortgage lender will not lend the money to the buyer. The contract will have to be re-negotiated to make the deal work.
• What can you do to solve the pricing issue?  Work with an experienced real estate agent who knows the market in your neighbourhood.  Your agent will provide you with a valuable CMA based on what similar homes have sold for in the recent 3 to 6 months, depending on the dynamics in your market. Take advantage of the research and advice your real estate agent can offer, and you’ll be sure to avoid the pitfalls of an overpriced home.

Days On Market (DOM)

Days on Market is a common statistic found on the Multiple Listing Systems (MLS) and basically tracks how long a home has actually been on the market for sale. Many MLS also keep track of Cumulative Days On Market (CDOM) which is the total days on market a home has been up for sale, that time includes the time on the market with a different agent also in the case where the home was temporarily withdrawn and then put back on the market for whatever reason. Depending on local MLS rules the CDOM number can reset back to zero if the home has been off of the market for 30 days or some other passage of time set by the local MLS Board.

Why Days On Market Matter

The number of Days On Market can affect the sale of your home. DOM provide sellers, buyers and real estate agents an idea of how well a home is being received while it is available for sale. Many issues can affect how long a home sits on the market and therefore the DOM number provides a good measure of how the home is being received.

Ideally the time for a home to get an offer is within the first 30-60 days of being on the market. If the home is on the market for longer than 60 days with no offers the seller and the real estate agent should be revisiting a number of things in order to determine why no offer has come in. The longer a home sits on the market without an offer causes buyers to question if there is something wrong with the home that is causing it not to sell and as a result some buyers may not even consider a home with a longer than normal time on market. This negative perception from buyers can force the sellers to reduce price much faster and steeper than if the marketing and pricing were done properly during the first 30-60 days of the home listing.

real estate pricing pyramid

Cumulative Days On Market Affect Home Sales.

The CDOM term is mentioned above because sometimes real estate agents may try and game the system by cancelling a listing and then creating a brand new listing a few days later in order to reset the DOM count. While the DOM count is reset upon re-listing an MLS which keeps track of CDOM will not fool anyone since the CDOM number will be reported right alongside the DOM number. If an agent suggests to you that cancelling and re-listing will make it look like your home is new on the market you should begin to question further the agents strategies for getting your home sold.

Now if the home has been pulled off of the market due to some legitimate reason like having to address some emergency repair that pops up while the home is on sale the CDOM is also not reset. There may be perception problems as well with that situation but any experienced agent will know how to get ahead of this problem by properly communicating the fact that the home needed some repair and now is back on the market and even may be better than before with the repairs.

Other Reasons Homes Have Long Days On Market

Another reason why a home may be on the market longer than 60 days is poor marketing. Listing your home on a couple of real estate websites is not enough. You should look at the quality of the photographs for your home, how is your home staged, have you de-cluttered and depersonalized. Marketing is more than just getting the word out there that you have a home for sale.

The amount of time a home spends on the market is looked at by buyers and real estate agents and may even be used as a reason not to consider a home. By pricing your home right and marketing it properly you should expect to have plenty of buyers and an offer in hand within the first 30-60 days of being on the market. If your home has not sold and is starting to spend too much time on the market it may be time to step back and reevaluate your home price and marketing plan.

Why Days On Market Matters

http://www.petercoppard.com/marketing

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Choosing Art for your Vancouver Home can be an exciting adventure and a source of enjoyment for many years to come.   Keys to success are figuring out what kind of art you like, how it will fit in with the rest of your interior design plans, and how to exhibit the art to the best effect in your home.

The location of the artwork can also be a deciding factor. In a bedroom it’s appropriate for art to be calming, or even seductive, but in a dining room you can afford to be bolder and more dramatic. If you intend to relax in your living room, don’t choose art that’s too loud, or anything that feels as though it takes over the room. The purpose of the room where you intend to display your art should influence the tone of the artwork itself.

Deciding on what kind of art you like

If you regularly visit galleries, home ware stores or museums, you probably already have a good sense of what kind of art appeals to you. If not, there are many opportunities to browse art within your area by visiting local galleries and art fairs.

The Internet provides the largest variety and depth of fine art available worldwide. One advantage of using the Internet is that you can search for the specific kind of art, not just wall art, whether it’s photography, impressionism, bronze sculpture, or abstract painting. And when you find one art site, you’ll usually find many, many more.

Should the art suit the room or the room suit the art?

When choosing Art for your Vancouver Home, any artist would prefer that everyone buy the art they love and then find a place to put it. If you feel strongly about a particular work of art, this is certainly the way to go. But you may find that when you get the art home and place it on a wall, it doesn’t work with its surroundings. ‘Not working’ means that the art looks out of place in the room. Placing art in the wrong surroundings can diminish its beauty and impact.

If you can’t find a place where the art looks its best, you may need to make some changes in the room, such as moving furniture or taking down patterned wallpaper and repainting in a neutral colour. The changes will be worth making in order to enjoy the art you love.

The right lighting is the key to showing art at its best. You may find that placing a picture light above a painting or directing task lighting on it is all the art needs to exhibit its brilliance. If you place a work of art in direct sunlight, however, it may well fade. Pigments such as watercolour, pencil and pastel are especially prone to fading, whereas acrylics are not.

http://www.louvre.fr/en

How to choose art to suit the room

You may prefer to create the look of the room first and then find the art to suit your décor. Size and colour are the two major criteria for selecting art to fit its surroundings. For any particular space, art that is too large will overwhelm and art that is too small will be lost and look out of proportion.

The bolder the art, the more room it needs to breathe. Larger canvas artwork can look stunning in a large, spacious conversion, whereas collections of smaller pictures work well in smaller cottage locations.

When selecting a painting to match colour, select one or two of the boldest colours in your room and look for art that includes those elements. You’re not looking for an exact match. Picking up one or two of the same colours will send a message that the painting belongs in this environment.

How to frame and hang your artwork

Some canvas artwork can be hung with no frame and can be a good solution for interior walls that can’t carry a great deal of weight. Landlords and developers often use this option in show homes and in rental properties for this reason. If you do select a frame, tie it in to the location where the artwork is to be hung, as well as in to the artwork itself. The frame should be a continuation of the picture rather than a contrast.

Style is another consideration when selecting a frame for your art. If you have contemporary furniture in large rooms with high ceilings, you’ll want to hang large, contemporary paintings. If your house is filled with antiques, for example, you’ll want to use antique style frames on the paintings you hang there.

As a rule, paintings should be hung so that the centre of the painting is at eye level and hung the right way up. On abstract pieces this can be confusing. Check for a signature (usually bottom right) or with the gallery you bought it from.

How to create an art-friendly room

Stewart Stephenson Fine Art Studio

When you walk into a gallery or museum, what do they all have in common? White walls and plenty of light. Simple, plain and neutral colour schemes work best to show off your art.

When choosing Art for your Vancouver Home you want to make art the centre attraction, play down the other elements of the room such as window coverings, carpeting, wall coverings, and even furniture. A room crowded with other colours, textures and objects will take the spotlight away from the art.

You may like to select one room in your house to focus on art. Paint the walls white or off-white. Lay hardwood floors or a neutral carpet. Install window coverings with clean simple lines and neutral colours (or no window coverings at all). Put up directional spot lights that can be adjusted to focus on the art, or use individual picture lighting for each piece.

For the furniture, follow the principle that less is more. This is not the room to display your collectibles. Let the art be the star. Then relax and enjoy it.

Local Vancouver Resources to check out:

Stewart Stephenson

Stewart Stephenson burst onto the Vancouver art scene in 2011, quickly becoming one of Canada’s best-selling artists. A pioneering self-taught artist, he specializes in large-scale abstract artwork known widely for their unique compositions, vibrant colors and flawless gloss finishes.  His paintings can be found in private and corporate collections around the world. Working intuitively with no prior sketch work, Stewart’s paintings are expressive and bold. Strong, powerful brush strokes, fine lines and complex compositions highlight Stewart’s versatility as an artist. His recent collections explore themes of celebrity, social and media culture. His large-scale high – end paintings showcase an original finish, both matte and high-gloss, revealing rich textures, colour combinations and impressive dimensions. The subject matter ranges from abstract to figurative.

Stewart Stephenson davidbowie1M

I recently sat down to speak with Stewart in his Yaletown Studio at 1063 Hamilton Street.  He is currently opening another studio in Pioneer Square in Seattle with plans to open another studio in Beverly Hills, LA, later this year.

“I set out to create artwork which visually established a positive relationship with the viewer without relating to social commentary or significant connotations. However, as my portfolio developed I began to notice patterns that evolved unknowingly. People today, are bombarded with news and advertisements, tweets and posts; I began to see my unconscious reacting to these elements of daily life. The effects take shape as either a complete detachment into another world full of bright colours, radiating gestures and open space or an amalgamation of deconstructed figures, bold strokes and hidden symbols depicting a detailed yet all encompassing story. I feel my work showcases and explores the human emotion and our ever-changing capacity to adapt to the fast-paced and content filled life that we find ourselves in today.” 

Stewart Stephenson, mygangwillgetyouLG

Custom commissioned artwork is often envisioned, created and ready to ship or install within 30 days from the date of order. All artwork is hand signed and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.   Prices range between $10,000 to $100,000 with the average large canvas in the $30,000 to $40,000 range.

Stewart Stephenson Fine Art Studio.

1063 Hamilton St, Vancouver, BC V6B 5T4

http://www.stewartstephenson.com

https://www.facebook.com/StewartStephensonFineArt

Equinox Gallery

Equinox Gallery

When choosing Art for your Vancouver Home, be sure to visit one of Vancouver’s leading galleries, the Equinox Gallery is a contemporary art gallery with both Canadian and international artists. Having been around for 36 plus years, they are widely reputed nationally and abroad. With an impressive roster of artists including Liz Magor, Gordon Smith and Philippe Raphanel, they have also carried the works of more established artists like David Hockney, Roy Lichtenstein and Jean-Paul Riopelle. 

Equinox represents approximately twenty artists. Large canvas prices can range between $12,000 to $90,000.

Ben Reeves

Ben Reeves

Gordon Smith

Gordon Smith 25523-th

Renee Van Halm

Renee Van Halm: Nudge

Equinox continues to maintain a solid reputation in the art world, with collectors, critics, artists and art enthusiasts. The space is open, clean and malleable; and the exhibitions are consistently fresh and interesting.

http://equinoxgallery.com

During the rainy days  – take some time out and catch the Modern Culture exhibition at Vancouver Art Gallery opening Feb 20th, 2016

https://youtu.be/NhfmzMN-Lx8

The Vancouver Art Gallery’s long-awaited “MashUp: The Birth of Modern Culture” takes over the gallery with 371 works, officially opening February 20, 2016.

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