Picket Fence sells much faster than agents - Upper Valley

We examined realtor data for the month of July 2010 and were surprised
by two facts. First, how long it took, on average, for  listed
properties to sell compared to Picket Fence properties across all
counties sampled. In all areas, Picket Fence properties sold faster, on
average, than did listed properties. And secondly, the low total number
of properties sold by the realtors. Notice the n’s under each bar. For
example, in Washington county only 27 properties sold through realtors
in July, only 8 in Lamoille county (6 Picket Fence properties in
Lamoille county sold in July!).
The take home message is this: MLS listed properties take longer (much
longer) to sell compared to Picket Fence properties. And really not that
many properties actually sell through agents when  you look at the raw
numbers. There are currently 13,000+ properties listed for sale in the
VT MLS (see www.nneren.com). Picket Fence has about 400. The overall
probability of selling through Picket Fence is much higher, on an
adjusted basis, and the expected wait until that sale occurs is much
shorter for Picket Fence sellers compared to agent-listed properties.
FYI: According to a very experienced appraiser, MLS time
on the market data is calculated from the date the listing is taken
until the date a contract is signed. If the listing expires, say after 6
months, and the property lists with another agent, the clock starts
over. So the MLS time on the market data can only be worse than what’s
reported.