A common question that Buyers ask is how long a house is on the market. If it is too long, interest is lost quickly. It is a natural reaction to not be interested in something that no one else is interested in. The natural assumption is that there must be something majorly wrong with the home. But there are many reasons why a house has been on the market for a while.
A very common reason is that the home was originally listed to high. When a home is first on the market, it will get a large amount of traffic with the group of Buyers currently looking. It is crucial for it to not be over-listed, or those potential Buyers will pass, either because it simply is not showing up in the right price range or those people looking in that price range are finding better deals. So, the house sits on the market for the first couple weeks without intriguing any interest. Even if the price is lowered, the initial rush of Buyers is over. And the damage of the house being on the market for a while with no offers was already done.
Another reason a house is on the market for a while is that the showing procedure for the house is difficult. There could be unwilling tenants, or even some Sellers themselves make it extremely hard to show a property. If the home cannot easily be seen, there will be lots of missed opportunities to have possibly sold the house. So, the place stays on the market for a while.
Also, some Sellers or even their agents could be unreasonable. They do not want to sell their properties for a dime less than what they are asking. It may be a ridiculouse price, but it may also be entierly reasonable. But, not negotiating at all turns away a lot of Buyers. So, the property will sit until a Buyer is willing to give in completely to the Seller.
If you are interested in a house that has been on the market a long time, do not dismiss it soley on the number of days on market. One thing to check out is the average days on market of the neighborhood. If the average is high, get your agent's opnion as to if that is normal or because the neighborhood is a undesirable area that will be hard to resell. If the average is lower than that particular house, just investigate the house, as you would with any property. Get it thoroughly inspected. Check that it is not in a restricted area, like a flood zone or endangered species area. Also, most MLS systems will show if the property ever went pending. If so, ask the listing agent what happened the last time the home went under contract and why those Buyers chose not to purchase the property.
In the end, choose a property because you enjoy it and any repairs are something you can handle. Days on market could be an indication of the property having severe problems, but that is not always the case. Look at it in context of the market area and get it inspected as you would with any home. Some of the best deals are properties that are being ignored by everyone else.
