Which days-on-market number should a seller pay attention to?

For pricing decisions, Closed DOM is the most relevant — it tells a seller how quickly correctly priced homes are actually selling. Active DOM is useful as a warning: a high Active DOM in your price band suggests overpriced competition is sitting, and that mispricing your own home will land you in that lingering pool rather than the fast-selling one.

Does The Cyr Team report average or median days on market?

Median, not average. A few extreme outliers — a single home that sat for 400 days, or one that sold in a day — distort an average badly in a small district. The median (the middle value) reflects the typical home far more honestly, which is why every Cyr Team market report uses median days on market.

Understanding Days on Market

Q: What does 'days on market' actually mean?

Days on market (DOM) counts how long a listing has been active. But there are three distinct versions, and they answer different questions. Active DOM measures the age of homes currently for sale (inventory age). Closed DOM measures how long homes that actually sold took to sell (true sale speed). Under-Contract DOM measures how fast homes are going under agreement right now (a leading indicator). The Cyr Team reports all three because a single 'days on market' figure can be misleading on its own.

Q: What is Under-Contract days on market and why does it matter?

Under-Contract DOM measures how long homes took to go under agreement among listings that just went pending. Because it captures activity happening right now — before those sales close weeks later — it's a leading indicator. When UC DOM drops, it often signals the market is accelerating before that shift shows up in Closed DOM. The Cyr Team tracks it as an early read on momentum.

"Days on market" sounds like one number. It's really three — and the difference decides what you should pay for a home, or how you should price one.

When a market report says homes sell in "a median of 5 days," that's not the same as saying the average listing is 28 days old — yet both are "days on market." The gap between those numbers is one of the most useful signals in real estate, and most reports flatten it into a single figure that hides what's actually happening. The Cyr Team reports three distinct days-on-market measures, because each one answers a different question.

The three days-on-market measures

Active DOM

Active Days on Market

What it measures: the age of current inventory

This is the median number of days that homes currently for sale have been listed. It describes the standing inventory — the pool of homes still waiting for a buyer.

Tells you how long unsold homes have been sitting

Does not tell you how fast homes sell — it only counts the ones that haven't

Active DOM is pulled upward by overpriced listings that linger. The longer a mispriced home sits unsold, the more it inflates this number.

Closed DOM

Closed Days on Market

What it measures: true sale speed

This is the median number of days it took homes that actually sold to go under contract. It's the honest answer to "how fast are homes selling?"

Tells you how quickly correctly priced homes are selling

Does not include homes still sitting unsold — those never enter this figure

This is the number that matters most for a pricing decision. When Closed DOM is low, well-prepared, well-priced homes are moving fast — regardless of how cluttered the active pool looks.

UC DOM

Under-Contract Days on Market

What it measures: a leading indicator of momentum

This is the median number of days it took homes that just went under agreement to find their buyer. Because these sales haven't closed yet — they'll finalize weeks from now — UC DOM captures what the market is doing right now.

Signals where the market is heading before it shows up in closed sales

Does not reflect final sale prices yet — it's an early read, not a settled outcome

When UC DOM starts falling, the market is usually accelerating — and you'll see that shift in Closed DOM only weeks later, once those deals close. It's the earliest of the three signals.

Why Active DOM is usually higher than Closed DOM. The two numbers measure opposite populations. Active DOM counts homes that haven't sold — which skews toward overpriced listings that keep aging in place. Closed DOM counts homes that did sell — which skews toward homes priced correctly enough to move. So a market can show, say, a 28-day median Active DOM and a 5-day median Closed DOM at the same time, and both are true. The gap isn't a contradiction. It's the spread between homes that are priced to sell and homes that aren't.

What this means for you

If you're selling

Watch Closed DOM — it tells you how fast a correctly priced home is actually moving in your district. Treat a high Active DOM as the warning it is: it means overpriced competition is sitting unsold. Price into the fast-moving group, not the lingering one.

If you're buying

A low Closed DOM means well-priced homes go fast — be ready to move on the right one. A high Active DOM tells you where the negotiating room is: the homes that have sat longest are often the overpriced listings whose sellers may now be motivated.

A note on median vs. average

Every Cyr Team report uses the median days on market — the middle value — not the average. In a single school district, one home that sat for 400 days, or one that sold in a day, can distort an average badly. The median reflects the typical home far more honestly, which is why it's the figure we publish.

Common questions

What does "days on market" actually mean?

It counts how long a listing has been active — but there are three distinct versions that answer different questions. Active DOM measures the age of homes currently for sale. Closed DOM measures how long homes that actually sold took to sell. Under-Contract DOM measures how fast homes are going under agreement right now. We report all three because a single figure can mislead on its own.

Why is Active days on market higher than Closed days on market?

Active DOM is pulled upward by overpriced listings that sit unsold and keep aging in the active pool. Homes priced correctly sell quickly and leave that pool, showing up in Closed DOM instead. So Active DOM reflects the inventory that hasn't sold; Closed DOM reflects the homes that did.

Which number should a seller pay attention to?

For pricing, Closed DOM — it tells you how quickly correctly priced homes are selling. Active DOM is useful as a warning: a high figure in your price band means overpriced competition is sitting, and mispricing your own home lands you in that lingering pool.

What is Under-Contract days on market, and why does it matter?

It measures how long homes took to go under agreement among listings that just went pending. Because it captures activity happening now — before those sales close weeks later — it's a leading indicator. When UC DOM drops, the market is often accelerating before that shift reaches Closed DOM.

Do you report average or median days on market?

Median. A few extreme outliers distort an average badly in a small district, so the median — the middle value — reflects the typical home far more honestly. Every Cyr Team report uses median days on market.

See these numbers for your district

Explore Market Intelligence → Tell Us About Your Situation → or call 484-259-7910

The Cyr Team (Vincent & Jane Cyr) · REAL of Pennsylvania · 400+ transactions since 2009 across Chester, Delaware, Montgomery & New Castle Counties. Market figures compiled weekly from Bright MLS data.