Redfin: Online views of newly listed homes fall as prices dwindle

Pageviews nosedive after a week on the market

Redfin: Online views of newly listed homes fall as prices dwindle

Newly listed homes get 3.4 times more online views the day they are listed but drop the day the seller lowers the price, according to Redfin’s recent report.

Redfin analyzed pageviews for over 1.2 million listings from its website and found the average number of views each listing received per day on the market.

Online views of home listings plunge after the first day, with half as many visits on the second day and a quarter as many after a week on the market, according to the report.

"It's critical to price your home to sell from the start," said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. "Fair or not, buyers judge a home by how many days it has been on the market. A home that has been on the market for more than a few weeks has a scarlet letter on it, and buyers will wonder why no one else wanted to buy it. Dropping the price can help get your home onto the radar of some buyers who are searching for homes priced just below the original price, but you likely won't be able to regain the appeal of a newly listed home."

On average, a home for sale that was viewed by 100 buyers online in its first day got 17 views per day after a month on the market. If sellers drop the price, the listing only jumps to 29 views for that day. After that, the home’s views sink back down to 18 per day.

Almost a quarter (24.2%) of homes for sale experienced a price drop during the week ending May 19, up from 21% a year ago but down from October’s 30% record high.