Real estate terms, defined clearly.

Sold-to-list ratio

Final sale price as a percentage of the last list price.

If a home lists at $700,000 and closes at $686,000, the sold-to-list ratio is 98%. It is the cleanest single read on negotiating room in a neighborhood.

Why it moves: Above 100% generally favors sellers (multiple offers, escalations). Below 100% favors buyers and tends to widen as days on market grow.

Also seen as: STL, sale-to-list

Days on market (DOM)

How long a listing has been actively for sale.

Median DOM is more useful than average DOM — a few stale listings can pull an average up meaningfully. Track the median by neighborhood and price band, not citywide.

Why it moves: DOM rises when pricing outpaces demand and shrinks when supply tightens or rates ease.

Also seen as: Median DOM, CDOM (cumulative)

Months of inventory (MOI)

How many months it would take to sell every active listing at the current pace.

Calculated as active listings ÷ monthly closings. Roughly: under 3 months tilts toward sellers, 4–6 reads balanced, above 6 tilts toward buyers.

Why it moves: MOI is a supply-side gauge. A jump usually means new listings are outpacing pendings.

Also seen as: MOI, supply

Absorption rate

The pace at which active listings are being purchased each month.

The inverse of months of inventory. Useful when you want to talk about velocity rather than supply.

Also seen as: Sales velocity

Odds of selling

Estimated probability that an active listing closes within a defined window.

A practical, plain-English read derived from new pendings and active inventory. Odds drop sharply when supply outruns demand for several weeks.

New pending

Listings that just went under contract.

A leading indicator — pendings move before closings do. When new pendings rise for several weeks, closed sales tend to follow.

Active listing

A home currently for sale and accepting offers.

Different from coming-soon (not yet showable) and pending (already under contract).

Comparable sale (comp)

A recently sold home used to estimate value for another property.

Strong comps share neighborhood, product type, square footage, condition, and recency — typically the last 90 days. Citywide medians are not comps.

Price band

The narrow price range a home actually competes in.

$650K–$725K behaves differently than $1.2M+. Most useful conversations happen at the price band level, not the citywide median.

Market tilt

Whether current conditions favor buyers, sellers, or neither.

A composite read across MOI, DOM, sold-to-list, and pending pace. Reported on a 0–100 scale in our weekly reports — lower favors buyers, higher favors sellers, around 50 reads balanced.

Metro district

A taxing entity, common in new construction, that funds infrastructure for a community.

Adds a property tax line beyond the standard county mill levy. Disclosure is required — read the service plan before writing an offer in a new community.

Why it moves: Metro district debt and mill levy caps materially affect total cost of ownership.

Rate buy-down

A builder or seller credit used to lower a buyer's interest rate.

Can be temporary (2-1 buy-down) or permanent. Often presented as the headline incentive in new construction — compare against an equivalent price reduction.

Seller concession

Money the seller agrees to credit the buyer at closing.

Commonly used toward closing costs or a rate buy-down. Concessions are reported separately from sale price and can mask true net pricing in comps.

Earnest money

The deposit a buyer puts down to demonstrate good faith.

Held in escrow and credited at closing. The amount and the conditions under which it can be returned are negotiated in the contract.

Appraisal gap

The difference between contract price and appraised value.

Buyers can agree in advance to cover some or all of a shortfall. Common in competitive markets, less common when the market tilts toward buyers.

Contingency

A condition that must be met for the contract to proceed.

Common ones: financing, appraisal, inspection, title, and sale of buyer's current home. Each has a deadline and an associated objection or termination right.

HOA dues

Recurring fees paid to a homeowners association.

Cover shared maintenance, insurance for common areas, and amenities. Always factor HOA into the monthly cost — and review the most recent budget and reserve study.

Carry costs

The cost of owning a home each month it remains unsold.

Mortgage interest, taxes, insurance, HOA, utilities, and basic maintenance. A useful number to plan around when a listing extends past the typical neighborhood window.