Colorado Springs Real Estate Definitions: Days on Market

The Colorado Springs MLS calculates how many days a property has been "on the market". Days on market are calculated from the date the listing was placed in the MLS until a ratified (all signatures) contract is accepted or the property sells.

When does the Colorado Springs MLS "Days on Market" clock start and stop?

The "Days on Market" clock starts ticking the minute a home is entered into the Colorado Springs MLS system. If a contract is accepted, the listing agent will mark the property as either:

UC: Under Contract but Still Showing. This usually means that the contract is not solid, or they are awaiting inspections. The "Days on Market" clock continues to count days when a property is marked UC.
P: Pending. This means that the property is under contract and set to close. The "Days on Market" clock stops ticking the day the property is marked "P".

Once a home for sale in Colorado Springs SELLS, the agent will mark it in the MLS as "S" for Sold and supply a date that it sold. The MLS will count all the days that it was on the market from the first day it was entered to the day it was marked as "P" (pending) or the date it closed - if the "P" was never used.

What if a sales contract does not wind up closing?

If a home goes under contract and is marked as "P" (pending) in the MLS, but the deal winds up not going through, the listing agent will re-mark the home as "A" - Active. The Colorado Springs will retro-act all the days that it was listed as "P" (pending) to give a better picture of how long the home has been for sale.

When does the "Days on Market" Clock re-start?

If a property has been Sold, Expired or the listing contract has been cancelled for more than 30 days, the "Days on Market" clock will fall back to zero. This 30 day rule is designed to keep agents from removing and re-entering properties to (fraudulently) show a lower "days on market" number.

However, if a property has just been withdrawn "W" from the Colorado Springs MLS (meaning, the listing contract was not cancelled), the "Days on Market" clock will continue to run. Homes for sale can be just withdrawn from teh MLS for a variety of reasons. The most common reasons I have heard are a family illness where the home will not be shown until the family member recovers, the homeowners are repainting or doing major fix-ups that would make showings difficult, or they are moving out and want a week or so of no showings.

In any case, the Colorado Springs MLS keeps detailed records of all activity, regarding "days on market". So, if you are ever interested in knowing how long a property was on the market either recently or in the past, you can.