What the Property History Can Tell You When a Home Goes for Sale

If you are hoping to buy a home, chances are good you are studying real estate listings carefully. You are probably focusing on the price to see if you can afford the mortgage for the home. And the photos are a big draw as well, as you imagine yourself cooking in that pretty kitchen or maybe painting the bedroom a different color after you move in.

When you're looking at the listing, though, there's one section you absolutely must take a close glance at. It's the property history section -- and here's what it can tell you.

When the house was listed

The property history will tell you when the home was listed, down to the exact date. For example, a property listed on July 25, 2023 would have that date along with a note that it was "Listed for sale."

This is a very helpful piece of information because sellers are more likely to negotiate if the house has been sitting on the market for longer. If the home has been listed for 200 days, a seller may be more willing to accept a lower offer compared with if the house was just listed yesterday.

Whether the house is listed for rent, for sale, or both

The property description will specify whether the home is listed for sale, listed for rent, or both. You'll also want this information. If the property owners have listed it for rent, that likely means they are not currently living in it. They may be more amenable to an offer if they have moved out already -- especially if they're also trying (and failing) to find renters.

Whether the house has been listed and removed recently

When you look at the property history, you'll now only see when the home was most recently listed, but you will also see if it has been listed and removed from the market recently. For example, the property history might say it was listed for sale on Jan. 2, 2022 and then removed a few months later on May 2, 2022.

If you see that a house has had a history of coming on the market and later being pulled off, it's possible that the sellers may be more eager for a sale since they've tried and failed to find a buyer before.

On the other hand, it could also mean the sellers aren't willing to budge on price and would rather just take the house off the market again rather than reducing the cost to find a buyer.

When the house last sold

You will also be able to see when the property actually did sell most recently. Since odds are good that you're buying it from the most recent people who bought it, this provides very helpful information.

If the people bought it and sold it very recently, they may be house flippers hoping for a quick profit. Or they may have bought the home and then experienced something unexpected, like a divorce, that could cause them to need to sell quickly. If, on the other hand, the people have been in the house for decades, they may be sitting on a lot of home equity.

This information can help you determine what to look for. For example, if the house is a flip, you'd want to make sure upgrades were done well and with the proper permitting.

What the most recent sale price was

Finally, you'll be able to see the most recent sale price, so you will know what the sellers of the home paid when they bought it. This can guide you in making an offer as well, as they will likely want to make a profit off the proceeds. But if they are trying to make a profit that seems unreasonable given the length of time they owned the home and what properties are selling for locally, you know how much wiggle room you have to make a lower offer based on how much they put in.

By considering all of these key pieces of information, you can make an assessment of how likely you are to have your offer accepted if you make a reduced offer, or whether you're looking at a situation where the seller is probably not going to budge on price.