Why a Home Sitting on the Market for 60 Days May Still Be a Good Fall Buy

The sale history in one metro area can offer lessons for buyers elsewhere.

A home that failed to sell during the summer could create fresh openings for fall house hunters. Still, a property that has lingered on the market does not automatically signal a discount, particularly when the list price only reveals part of the picture.

According to Realtor.com®’s housing report, Dallas-Fort Worth homes had a median of 62 days on the market, and 27.5% of listings saw price cuts. That figure was above the national share of 20.8%, indicating that more sellers in the area were lowering expectations to draw interest. Even so, local inventory fell 2.3% from a year earlier, so buyers may not necessarily have more options.

Extended listing times and price reductions are only part of the bargaining landscape. Redfin’s August analysis found that 53.3% of Dallas-area home sales included seller concessions, up 6.5 percentage points from a year earlier. Those concessions can cover closing costs, repairs or mortgage-rate buydowns, giving buyers another way to negotiate beyond a lower asking price.

Days on the market can also be measured in several different ways.

Cumulative DOM. Some MLS systems count days across multiple listing periods. If a home was listed for 30 days, removed, and then relisted, cumulative DOM captures the full timeline.

Resets. Some agents relist properties to set DOM back to zero. Careful buyers can often notice this, and public records usually reveal the actual history.

Under-contract periods. In some markets, DOM pauses when a home goes under contract and then resumes if the deal falls through. In others, it does not.

• Was the home listed before? Check its listing history to see earlier prices and how long it stayed on the market.
• Did a previous deal fall apart? Ask whether financing, appraisal or inspection problems disrupted the sale.
• Are repairs behind the price cut? Schedule an independent inspection before treating the reduction as a real bargain.
• Would seller concessions help more? Compare closing-cost help and eligible rate buydowns with a lower purchase price.
• Can you afford the full cost of ownership? Factor in property taxes, insurance, HOA fees and maintenance.