Welcome to the 30-day reset era.

On Tuesday, January 20th, a rule change takes effect that will quietly reshape how properties are marketed in New York City. Previously, if a listing didn’t sell and needed to be relisted, it had to be off the market for 90 days before its “Days on Market” counter could reset.

Under the new rule, that waiting period drops to just 30 days.

So imagine a property sits on the market for 45 days without generating serious interest. The seller pulls it, waits 30 days, then relists it as "new." Under this new system, that listing could theoretically be relaunched up to five times in a year, each time appearing fresh to buyers — even if it’s been quietly circulating for months.

Now, a 30-day reset does offer sellers more flexibility. It allows for faster course correction if a property was mispriced or launched at the wrong moment. But here's the risk:

A 30-day reset makes it far too easy to avoid the difficult conversation about why your property didn't sell in the first place.

It can seem a very tempting crutch when a seller can simply “start over” and hope the next wave of buyers reacts differently, instead of adjusting price or improving positioning.

Of course, the seasonal implications are even bigger—pulling a listing for the summer or holiday lull now becomes a no-brainer. Sellers can quietly step off the market during slower months, wait 30 days, and re-enter peak season with a clean slate.

The result is likely a surge of “new” listings every spring and fall — many of which aren’t truly new at all. They’re just better timed.

For buyers, Days on Market becomes significantly less reliable as an indicator of market reception. That pristine "8 days on market" could represent the property's fourth attempt to sell over six months. And though that information is still available, most buyers won't think to look for it.

There are legitimate arguments for this change, but they come at a cost. When the metrics we use to evaluate market performance become this malleable, everyone operates with less reliable data.

As of tomorrow, "new listing" becomes a more complicated term. The day counter becomes a less trustworthy metric. And the gap between what's technically accurate and what's actually true gets a little wider.