DOM is “Days On Market”. This number is important because the longer the home has been on the market, the more likely the seller is to accept a lower offer. Reports printed by your broker from the Triangle Multiple Listing Service (MLS) have two kinds of DOM. The first, LADOM, means “Listing Agreement Days On Market”. Listing agreements can be terminated and new agreements signed, agents can be fired and hired, and this number will reset to zero each time, so this number is meaningless. CDOM, “Cumulative Days On Market” is more helpful, because it is the total number of days this property has been on the market. However, even this number will be reset to zero if the property is taken off the market for 30 days. In this case, you can ask your agent to run a report on the property address and you will see the complete MLS history, including all price reductions.
When you find a home you like, how do you know it is priced correctly? Look up the homes that have sold recently in the same subdivision and find those that are of comparable quality to the home you like, considering overall condition, upgrades, lot size, etc. Look at the $/SF, or “Sales Price per Square Foot” for each of these. The home you like should sell for a similar $/SF.
Ask your broker to print out, and help you analyze a “Quick CMA” report for the properties in which you are interested. This report will automatically calculate DOM and $/SF for you. Pay no attention to SP/LP% (percentage of list price that a property sold for) on this report. This calculation is not helpful because list price depends upon random seller preference, and is based upon the latest list price, not the original list price of each property.
