Every month in this space I give you the statistics on what the market is doing in Culpeper, Fauquier, Rappahannock and Prince William counties. (With Warren thrown in occasionally!)

What I haven't really talked about is where this data comes from and what inherent flaws there might be in this data. It now seems like I'm overdue for that discussion.

Each month the data I use as the basis for my analysis comes from the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). The MLS that serves our area is called MRIS. The data in this system comes from what the agents input. They input their listings and they input the information when it gets sold.

So, here's the first weakness in the system, the human factor. People forget, get lazy, get busy, etc. It's the same problem with every system, anywhere, run by people!

There are brokerages that still don't list properties in the MLS. They are few and far between, but a few of them still exist. (By the way, if you really don't want your house to get sold, just keep it out of the MLS!)

Builders generally don't list every house they have for sale in the MLS. They'll list, perhaps, one of each model they have. So the MLS always understates the total inventory and seriously understates new construction inventory.

While many For Sale By Owner (FSBO) properties are now in the MLS, many more are still not, relying on the handwritten sign in the yard. Again, this understates inventory.

But for whatever flaws there are, the MLS is the best system we've got. It's as close as I can get to getting a total snapshot of the market at any given time.

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.

I've been saying for awhile that, given the upward climb of energy prices, buyers are more and more interested in knowing about the energy efficiency (or lack thereof) of the homes they're thinking about buying.

New features in our local MLS system now make it easier for buyers to find the homes that have features that cater to that desire.

It is now possible to designate when a home has Energy Star Appliances, an Energy Star Heating System or an Energy Star Cooling System. And, that, in turn, means that buyers will be able to ultimately search on those features.

This is only the beginning of a revamping of the MLS system to help buyers more easily find "green" homes. While "green" is a fuzzy term without any real, solid definition, the changes being made will allow buyers to search for concrete items that make up their definition of green. The rest of these changes will be announced in the first quarter of 2008 and I'll tell you more about them then.

But meanwhile, if you're a seller, or if you're thinking about selling you should be figuring out how to make use of this information.

First of all, if your home is already listed, make sure your agent knows about any Energy Star systems in your home and that they update the MLS system to reflect that.

Secondly, if you're thinking about putting your home on the market in the next six months, think about what "green" qualities your home has now or what things you might want to invest in before you put your home on the market. If you were going to replace that old dishwasher any, make sure you get one that has the Energy Star certification.

This is just the start! I truly believe that investing in energy efficient features for your home will save you money later and will also enhance the marketability of your home when you sell.

If you've got questions on this or would like some guidance on what you can do in preparation for selling your home, I'm happy to help!