How to Buy a House: What Property History and Days on the Market Tell You About a Home and Its Price  

Understanding a home’s property history and its days on the market can reveal important information about a house and the motivation behind a seller’s pricing. Knowing how to discern this invaluable information is critical when learning how to buy a house.  

If you’ve been searching for a home to buy, chances are you’ve spent a lot of time on Zillow.com or Realtor.com looking for the right home. Both sites have databases of over 120 million property listings giving you access to a gold mine of housing information. 

Zillow is the most well-known real estate listing website that consumers use to find property listings. The second most visited website is Realtor.com. Both get their data from the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) which is the private database used only by Realtors, real estate agents who belong to the National Association of Realtors.  

By using these sites, you can easily see basic information on a home such as its address, number of bedrooms and the year it was built.  You can also read through a description of the main characteristics of the home, which can include everything from the type of flooring in the home to the kinds of appliances it has. 

After digesting all of this information, you may still be left asking, “What is this home really like and why is it being sold for this price?”  Of course, nothing replaces a hands-on tour, but diving deeper into the home’s property history on the listing page can tell you more. 

Property history 

Some of the most insightful information about the home is found in its property history, but unfortunately, this information isn’t available to consumers in all states.  

If the home you want to buy is in a disclosure state, the home’s sale’s history is made public on the listing. Not every state legally requires sellers to reveal such important data. If you are buying in a non-disclosure state, the home’s listing will not provide the property’s history of sales. 

If you have the advantage of being in a disclosure state, you can scroll down the home’s listing to find its property history. This history shows the home’s listing status from its previous owners to its present owner. From this information, you can become familiar with the home’s progression through the years.  

 Price Reductions  

On the property history chart, you can see if the home has had price reductions from its present original asking price. If the original list price was $399,900, but now the list price is $377,450 the price has been reduced. Most likely the home has been on the market for several weeks if a price reduction has occurred. It may signify that the home was overpriced or perhaps there are issues with the home that have come to light. This may also mean there is room for more price negotiations. You’ll want to take this into consideration if you decide to bid on the home.  

9/2/2025      Price decreased      $377,450      $221/sqft 

                                                          -$12,450 ________________________________________________________________________ 

8/26/2025    Price decreased      $389,900      $228/sqft 

                                                          -$10,000 _________________________________________________________________________ 

8/21/2025     Listed for sale          $399,900      $234/sqft 

Contingent 

Sometimes the property history will show the house is contingent. This means the seller has accepted a contract on the house, but that contract is dependent on certain conditions being met. Perhaps the sale is contingent on the buyer getting approved for a loan. If the loan goes through, the buyer’s contract is good, and they will buy the home. 

The home sale may also be contingent on a home inspection. If the inspection reveals major repairs need to be made and the seller refuses to do the repairs, the buyer may have the right to back out of the contract. The home would then go back on the market.   

If you see a recent contingency on a home’s history and now the house is active or for sale again, make sure you find out why the deal fell through. Was there a major defect found in the house? This information must be revealed to the buyer if the sellers have knowledge of it. 

 9/19/2025     Listed for sale      $367,000      $215/sqft 

                                                        -2.8%  _________________________________________________________________________ 

9/16/2025     Contingent            $377,450      $221/sqft 

_________________________________________________________________________ 

9/15/2025     Listed for sale        $377,450      $221/sqft 

Listed for Rent 

Maybe there was a period of time when the owner tried renting the property without success. If you focus on the dates, you can see the home’s story unfold. This will help you better understand the position of the seller, and if they might be more open to a lower offer price. 

3/22/2020      Listed for rent      $2,190      $1/sqft 

                                                         +4.3% 

________________________________________________________________________ 

12/22/2019     Listing removed  $349,000   $115/sqft 

________________________________________________________________________ 

7/13/2019       Price decreased   $349,000   $115/sqft 

                                                         -9.4% 

Property History Dates  

You can know more about the home by looking at the string of past ownership. Look at the date of the last sale and the price it sold for. If the present owners bought the home three years ago and are now selling it for $100,000 more, you will want to know why the drastic price increase. What improvements were made to justify the jump in price? Perhaps the owners made major renovations to the home. You may be able to see that the kitchen was remodeled in the photos, but a home tour will show you the true condition of the home.  

Buyers need to be aware that with the introduction of AI, photos may be virtually staged. This AI feature is used to help buyers picture an empty house fully furnished. Some AI altered photos can also help rehabbers envision a new floorplan for a house that needs major renovations. AI may show a home’s potential but it’s important to focus on what the home is worth in its present state. That is what you are paying for.  

7/2/2025        Listed for Sale      $840,000      $241/sqft 

                                                         +13.51% 

_________________________________________________________________________ 

4/29/2022      Sold                       $740,000      $213/sqft 

The price history may show that a home has only had one owner. Often homeowners who have owned one home for most of their life have a deep emotional attachment to the home. They may not be interested in price negotiations but in finding a buyer who will respect and maintain their home. In such cases, it’s not the price that leads a seller to accept a contract but rather knowing that the buyer will love and respect the property. A love letter, or a simple note from the buyer to the seller showing respect may be more powerful than any price negotiation. Consider asking the listing agent who the homeowners are to gain insight into their true motivation.   

11/4/2025     Listed for sale      $399,900      $182/sqft 

                                                      +$492.4% 

__________________________________________________________________________ 

10/24/1980   Sold                       $67,500        $31/sqft 

Days on the Market 

 Another important thing to notice is the number of days the property has been on the market. This information is highlighted somewhere near the top part of the listing page. The length of time a home has been active will affect the selling price.  

The most exuberance takes place during the first few weeks the house is listed. The seller is the most hopeful at this point to get the asking price for the home. They are thinking, “We just put the home on the market. We want the list price!” Don't expect to get a deal on a home that just hit the market. The seller has the best chance for selling the house for the maximum amount of money right after listing the home.  

If you want to find the best deal on a property, you might want to start looking at homes that have been on the market for longer than two weeks. Depending on the market inventory, sellers may be ready to drop the price on their home after just two weeks of being on the market. The longer the home is on the market, the more price decreases you will find.  

Often homes on the market for a month or more have had prior offers that have fallen through. A listing agent may encourage “any and all offers” which is a sign that the sellers are very open to negotiations.  

There is a lot to consider when searching for the right home. Educating yourself is key to successfully navigating each step of the home buying process. Todd’s Simple Homebuying Course will help equip you with the knowledge and sound advice you need to make smart home buying decisions. 

Knowing how to buy a house can be complicated. Let Todd’s Simple Homebuying Course help make it easier and more affordable. Order your course today!