I met first time buyers last week for a 30 minute consultation.  We discussed statistics and the fact that most La Crescenta homes are selling quickly and many for over asking price.  We also discussed DOM (days on market) and CDOM (cumulative days on market):

Days on Market (DOM):  – the number of days a home is on the market prior to closing escrow. But, DOM is misleading, look at this La Crescenta home I listed in August::  

Listed 8/7/09
We accepted an offer on 8/16/09
It closed escrow 9/16/09

MLS (multiple listing service) stats indicate that this home was on the market for 40 days. But it was really only “on the market” from 8/7 – 8/16 – the 40 DOM is from the date it was listed in the MLS until the date it closed.

Cumulative Days on Market (CDOM) is the number of days the property has been listed in the past 365 days.   Assume my La Crescenta listing had expired after a typical six month listing period and the owner relisted with another agent.  As soon as the new agent relisted the home in the MLS the stats would read: 0/180:

DOM: 0
CDOM: 180



La Crescenta’s September stats reflect an average DOM of 62 days; this does not indicate that it is taking 62 days to sell, but 62 days to close.  The La Crescenta homes selling ARE selling quickly. 

Most lenders can’t close in 30 days (but that is a different story), typically if they hustle 35-40 days is about as fast of an escrow you will experience.  If you assume an average 40 day escrow that leaves an average of 22 days marketing time (prior to entering escrow).