“How long will it take to sell?”

It’s the question every vendor asks. Days on market has become the headline metric for property sales—and increasingly, for agent selection. Vendors compare agent track records. Media reports market health through DOM statistics. The number carries weight.

But like most metrics, days on market tells a partial story. Understanding what actually drives it—and how to influence it—requires deeper analysis.

What Days on Market Measures

The calculation seems simple: days from listing to sale. But definitions vary:

Portal DOM: Days a listing appears on REA or Domain before being marked as sold or removed.

Contract DOM: Days from listing to contract exchange.

Settlement DOM: Days from listing to settlement completion (typically 6 weeks longer than contract).

Adjusted DOM: Some calculations exclude time when listings were withdrawn or relisted.

These different measures can vary significantly. An agent claiming “14 days on market” might mean portal time, while comparable data uses contract date. Apples and oranges.

When comparing agents or tracking market trends, ensure consistent measurement.

Market Factors Beyond Agent Control

Much of what determines days on market lies outside agent influence:

Market Conditions

Bull markets sell fast. Bear markets sell slow. The same property, same price, same agent can have dramatically different DOM depending on when it lists.

Sydney’s current market shows DOM averaging 28-35 days across most suburbs—up from pandemic lows of 18-22 days but well below pre-pandemic averages of 40-50 days. These movements reflect broader market dynamics, not individual agent performance.

Property Type

Different properties sell at different speeds:

• Entry-level properties often sell fastest (largest buyer pool)
• Prestige properties take longer (smaller qualified buyer pool)
• Unique properties vary wildly (either quick or prolonged, rarely average)
• Strata properties in buildings with issues can linger

Comparing an agent’s DOM for a $500K apartment against their DOM for a $3M house tells you little about capability.

Location

Suburb characteristics affect sale speed:

• High-turnover suburbs with frequent sales move faster
• Tightly held areas with rare listings can take longer (buyers need time to discover opportunities)
• Areas with strong investor activity often see quicker transactions
• Suburbs with clearance rates above 70% typically show lower DOM

Property Condition

Move-in ready properties sell faster than those needing work. Vendors who invest in presentation before listing typically achieve quicker sales.

Vendor Flexibility

Vendors with realistic expectations and willingness to negotiate sell faster. Those anchored to unrealistic prices extend DOM regardless of agent effort.

What Agents Actually Influence

Within market constraints, agent actions affect days on market:

Pricing Strategy

The single biggest lever. Properties priced correctly from day one consistently achieve lower DOM than those starting high and reducing.

Overpricing by 10% typically adds 3-6 weeks to sale time. That delay often results in a lower final price than realistic initial pricing would have achieved.

Strong agents have difficult pricing conversations upfront rather than letting the market teach vendors expensive lessons.

Marketing Quality

Comprehensive marketing reaches more buyers faster:

• Quality photography increases engagement
• Virtual tours pre-qualify buyers
• Premium portal placement improves visibility
• Effective description copy generates enquiries

The gap between excellent and mediocre marketing can represent weeks of additional DOM.

Buyer Engagement

Agent responsiveness and follow-up discipline matter:

• Fast enquiry response improves conversion
• Systematic buyer tracking ensures none slip through
• Proactive matching of buyers to new listings accelerates interest
• Strong negotiation brings deals together that might otherwise stall

These capabilities separate agents even in identical market conditions.

Campaign Strategy

Auction versus private treaty, campaign duration, open home scheduling—strategic choices affect timing:

• Well-run auctions concentrate buyer activity, often achieving faster sales
• Private treaty campaigns can be faster for correctly priced properties in active markets
• Off-market approaches bypass public marketing time but may sacrifice competition

No single strategy works universally. Matching approach to property and market conditions optimises DOM.

Interpreting Agent Statistics

When vendors evaluate agents on DOM track records, they should consider:

Portfolio Mix

An agent selling mainly entry-level properties will show lower average DOM than one handling prestige listings. The prestige agent isn’t necessarily slower—their market simply moves differently.

Sample Size

Statistics from 10 sales tell you little. Agents with 50+ sales provide meaningful patterns. Small samples produce noise, not signal.

Time Period

DOM statistics from a year ago reflect different market conditions. Recent data matters more than historical averages.

Withdrawn Listings

Some agents manage DOM statistics by withdrawing and relisting slow properties. This resets the clock but doesn’t reflect real performance.

Sold vs Listed

An agent with low DOM but high listing volume might be selling quickly because they reject challenging properties. An agent who takes on difficult listings and sells them—even if slowly—may provide more value.

Using DOM Constructively

For vendors, DOM should inform rather than determine agent selection:

Compare like with like: Ask for DOM statistics for properties similar to yours in the same time period.

Understand the drivers: Ask agents to explain their DOM outcomes. What do they attribute quick sales to? What slowed others?

Look at outcomes, not just speed: A property selling in 14 days for $1.1M might be worse than one selling in 28 days for $1.2M. DOM without price context is incomplete.

Consider the full picture: DOM is one metric. Clearance rates, price achieved versus estimate, vendor satisfaction, and negotiation skill all matter.

For agents, DOM provides useful feedback:

Track consistently: Monitor your own DOM with consistent methodology. Identify trends.

Diagnose slow campaigns: When DOM extends, understand why. Pricing? Marketing? Buyer pool? Each diagnosis suggests different responses.

Set realistic expectations: Promise vendors timelines you can deliver. Overpromising and underdelivering damages relationships more than honest forecasts.

Focus on controllables: You can’t change the market. You can improve your pricing conversations, marketing quality, and buyer engagement.

The Bigger Picture

Days on market matters, but it’s not the only thing that matters. A fast sale at an inadequate price serves no one. A slower sale that achieves vendor goals is success.

The best agents optimise for outcomes—price, timing, certainty, and vendor experience together. They understand that DOM is a useful metric, not the only metric.

In vendor conversations, I recommend discussing DOM in context: “Based on current market conditions and comparable sales, I expect your property to sell within 25-35 days with our recommended strategy. Here’s what affects that timeline and how we’ll work to optimise it.”

That conversation—honest, contextual, focused on factors rather than just outcomes—builds trust that superficial DOM claims don’t.

---

Linda Powers consults with real estate agencies on performance measurement and improvement. Her 25-year career provides perspective on how metrics should—and shouldn’t—drive decision-making.