Days on Market (DOM) is one of the most important metrics in real estate—it tells us how quickly homes are selling and offers insight into the speed and competitiveness of a market.
It’s a key market indicator, and we’re here to help you understand how to use it. Let’s dig in.
✅ TL;DR for Busy Agents:
- The MLS uses three different measures of DOM, the most important of which is CDOM.
- CDOM, or Cumulative Days on Market, measures the full time a property has been listed under its current seller, regardless of if it’s been pulled and re-listed.
- For market trends, CDOM is often measured as a median, since it is less skewed by outliers than an average. In addition, yearly rolling values can be used to smooth out the seasonal nature of CDOM.
- CDOM should be used with other key metrics like percent of original list price received and months’ supply of inventory to read the market.
📈 The MLS and Days on Market
On any given listing, NorthstarMLS displays three types of DOM:
- DOM (Days on Market)
- PDOM (Days on Market at Most Recent List Price)
- CDOM (Cumulative Days on Market)
All of these measure the time between when a listing becomes active and when it goes pending, but what they include—and when they reset—varies.
The most basic is DOM, which tracks how many days a single listing has been active. If a seller cancels the listing and relists it under a new MLS number, that DOM counter resets. PDOM is similar, but it’s tied to the property’s current list price. If the price changes, the PDOM resets to zero, while the DOM continues counting from the original list date.
Then there’s CDOM, or Cumulative Days on Market, which takes a broader view. CDOM adds up the days on market across multiple listings of the same property (as long as it’s the same seller). Even if a home is pulled from the market and re-listed under a new MLS number, CDOM keeps counting. That makes CDOM the most complete measure of how long a home has truly been for sale.
📅 Why CDOM Matters
Because CDOM gives the full picture of a home’s time on the market, it’s the metric most often used in our market visuals. A lower CDOM means homes are selling quickly, usually in competitive conditions where sellers have the upper hand. On the flip side, a higher CDOM points to slower-moving inventory, often signaling more leverage for buyers.
For example, if homes in a certain neighborhood are going under contract in just a few days, it suggests high demand and limited supply—classic seller’s market behavior. But if CDOM is climbing, homes are taking longer to sell, giving buyers more time to make decisions and potentially negotiate better deals.
📏 Median vs. Average: What’s the Difference?
When tracking market trends over time, it’s common to look at the median CDOM rather than the average. That’s because median is less affected by extreme cases, like a home that takes a year to sell. A single outlier like that can skew the average and paint an inaccurate picture of the overall market. In InfoSparks, though, you can view both median and average CDOM if you want to dig deeper.
☀️ Seasonality and Trends
DOM statistics are heavily influenced by the seasons. Real estate tends to move faster in the summer and slower in the winter. To smooth out these seasonal effects, tools like InfoSparks use a 12-month rolling average—which means each data point represents the average of the past year, including the last month. That makes it easier to spot long-term trends.
Looking at the Twin Cities region from early 2022 to mid-2025, for instance, we see that CDOM has gradually increased. Despite seasonal ups and downs, this trend suggests that the market overall has been cooling—homes are staying on the market longer, regardless of the time of year.
📖 Reading the Market
CDOM is most useful when viewed alongside other key indicators like percent of original list price received and months’ supply of inventory. If homes are sitting on the market longer, selling for less than asking, and inventory is growing, that’s a strong sign the market is shifting toward buyers. They have more options, more time, and greater room for negotiation.
Final Thoughts: What It Means for Agents and Buyers
For agents, understanding DOM (especially CDOM) helps shape pricing strategies and set realistic timelines with sellers. It also helps guide buyers on when to act fast versus when they have more room to explore their options.
Bottom line: knowing how DOM works and what it looks like in your current market can lead to smarter decisions on both sides of the transaction.