Effective today the methodology for determining how many days a property has been for sale is changing in the local Multiple Listing Service.

The indicator that is changing is something known as Days on Market Property and basically tells you how long the property has been listed for sale, Even if the sellers have changed agents or changed something about the listing, it still shows you the cumulative days on the market.

The rule has been that in order for that number to reset to zero, the property must be off the market for 180 days, essentially six months. If it is relisted after that time the counter starts again at zero. If it's relisted before that 180 days, the counter picks up where it left off. So, if you had your house for sale for 100 days, then took it off the market for two months to make some renovations and relisted it, on the first day it's back on the market it shows it's been listed for 101 days.

The new policy decreases that waiting time from 180 days to 90 days.

The rationale is that the market has changed, houses turn over more often and that the 180 days didn't accurately reflect the market. At least that's the story from the MLS.

In actuality it's motivated by unhappy sellers and their unhappy agents. Let's face it, a house that looks like it's brand new on the market is going to get more attention than a house that's already been listed for four months, or two years! And, when an offer is written, how long it's been for sale is one factor a buyer may want to consider in their offer.

Buyers are definitely the ones on the short end of this stick. The real estate agents who represent buyers can still get the information on how long the house has been for sale. But they're going to have to go that extra mile and do the research. Some of them simply won't bother. And, it becomes close to impossible for the consumer to get this information.

It seems like a short-sighted change that's been made for all the wrong reasons. Changing this kind of data point to deal with market fluctuations just doesn't seem smart. So, while they've no doubt made some sellers a little happier, I doubt they've done anyone any good in the long term.