Cheaper homes are sitting longer than expensive ones: the 90 vs 64 day split

VERDICT: This is a balanced-to-soft market with an unusual twist, and the twist is what matters this week: cheaper homes are moving slower than pricier ones.

Across the territory's 312 active listings, the split at the territory's own median list price of 339,900 shows something backwards from the usual pattern. Homes asking below that line carry a median 90 days on market. Homes asking at or above it carry a median 64 days on market. Normally the more expensive homes are the ones that sit. Here, it is the other way around, split 152 below and 159 above that median line.

If you're selling below the median price point in this territory, expect a longer runway. A median 90 days on market for that segment means pricing and presentation deserve extra attention before the home goes live, not after it has already sat.

If you're buying in that same lower band, patience is rewarded. More of these homes are sitting, which likely means less competition per showing.

If you're on either side of the upper band, the median 64 days on market there suggests those homes are moving with less friction, so sellers there may see faster interest and buyers there should be ready to act without lingering over the decision.

Zoning out for a moment, the territory logged 20 new listings and 30 sold homes against 312 active listings this period, with 12 price cuts recorded. Most of that volume and most of the cuts sit in one zip, a pattern this desk has already flagged in prior weeks, so it is background here rather than the story.

Two sample price cuts illustrate the range in play. A unit at 3130 N Harwood St came down 100,000 to 1,199,000 after 81 days on market. A home at 2618 Pine St came down 22,500 to 107,500 after just 55 days on market. Those two sit at opposite ends of both price and days on market, which is a reminder that the below/above split is a median, not a rule for every single listing.

Months of supply across the territory sits at 9.70 months, which is a broad, unsegmented figure and does not by itself explain the days-on-market split above. It is worth watching whether that supply figure moves in a way that later helps explain why cheaper homes are lingering longer.

What would change this read: if next period's split at the median price point flips back to the usual pattern, that would suggest this period's inversion was a one-time wrinkle rather than a real shift in how buyers are behaving toward lower-priced inventory. We are watching that split specifically, not the overall days-on-market number, because the overall number can stay flat while the two halves move in opposite directions underneath it.

This read is built on the territory's active listings for the period, split 152 below and 159 above the median, and on 30 sold homes for the period, a small sample for anything beyond what happened this period. There is no sale-price or price-per-square-foot data available this run, so this note cannot say what these homes are actually closing for, only how long they are sitting while active. If you want a look at where your own listing or search would land against this split, reach out and we can walk through it together.

Vladimir

STORY: Below-median homes in the territory carry a median 90 days on market versus 64 days for above-median homes, an inversion of the usual pattern, split 152 below and 159 above the territory median list price of 339,900. SPENT: 339,900 (territory medianListPrice); 90 (below-median DOM); 64 (above-median DOM); 152 (below count); 159 (above count); 312 (total actives); 20 (new); 30 (sold); 12 (cuts); 9.70 months (supply); 100,000 cut / 1,199,000 / 81 days (3130 N Harwood St); 22,500 cut / 107,500 / 55 days (2618 Pine St) USED: Opened on the frozen DOM-inversion finding directly, moved to per-side buyer/seller guidance, then to background concentration note, then two illustrative price-cut listings, then supply figure as an open question, then watching/limits close. LIMITS: No sale-price, price-per-square-foot, or sale-to-list data exists this run; the DOM split describes active listings only, not what homes are actually closing for, and the sample is 152 below plus 159 above priced actives and 30 sold homes. WATCHING: Whether next period's below/above median-price split reverts to the usual pattern (higher-priced homes sitting longest) or holds, which would confirm this period's inversion is a real shift rather than a one-time wrinkle.