A recent study done by Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia and published in the Journal of Housing Research suggests that the closer a realtor is to the property they are selling, the faster it will sell. Faculty at the university looked at data from a Multiple Listing Service in the state, which provided information about 13,017 sold and 8,053 unsold homes between 1999 and 2009.
Researchers determined that for every mile between a home and the listing agent’s office, the average chance that a home will sell goes down by .5 percent and the average time on the market goes up by .36 percent. In other words, a home 20 miles away from a realtor’s office will have a 10 percent less chance of ever selling and will stay 7.2 percent longer on the market if it does sell than a home down the street from the realtor.
There are a variety of reasons presented for this phenomenon. The farther away a property is from a realtor, the more time and money they have to spend on it, especially since realtors may need to show prospective buyers homes at unscheduled times. Additionally, the greater this distance a property is from a seller, the less experience they may have with a particular area and its real estate.
For these reasons, realtors appear to believe there is some truth in the findings of the study. However, it is important to note that other factors may be involved, such as the fact that homes that are farther away from populous areas may not be as attractive to buyers.