Buyer foot traffic decreased from last month and last year amid higher mortgage rates and continued inventory challenges, according to the latest data from ShowingTime

• Showing activity across the U.S. continued to normalize in September, with a 17% year-over-year decline in buyer traffic.
• Home to several formerly hot major housing markets, the Western region saw a 45% year-over-year drop in home showings.
• Home shoppers continued to see less competition, with just 14 markets recording moderate increases in showings per listing, compared to more than 70 in August. 

Chicago, IL – Oct. 27, 2022 (PRNewswire) Home showing traffic continued its decline in September, according to the latest data from the ShowingTime Showing Index®.

Affordability remains a major challenge for home shoppers, despite recent moderate price declines and an increase in the number of homes for sale from this time last year. Mortgage affordability challenges combined with normal seasonal slowdown — showing traffic is down 7% from last month, in line with previous years — mean fewer buyers are engaging in home showings.

“In addition to the regular seasonal slowdown we would expect, buyers who can’t overcome affordability challenges are opting out of the market and contributing to the fewer showings we saw in September,” said Mike Lane, vice president of sales and industry for ShowingTime+.

A majority of listings averaged between four and nine showings. The number of markets that saw increases in the number of showings per listing fell from 70 to 14, with buyers seeing less competition and enjoying more time and options. Among these markets were Boise and San Francisco, which both saw 3% increases in showings per listing month over month.

All regions and the U.S. as a whole saw monthly and yearly declines in showing traffic. The Midwest and Northeast regions saw year-over-year declines of 11.2% and 10.1%, respectively. The South is down 27% from last year, while the Western region again led all regions in year-over-year declines, with a drop of 45%. The West and South are home to previous red-hot pandemic markets, including Seattle, Denver, Austin and Phoenix.

“At inflection points like this, while it’s difficult to forecast what will happen, we continue to believe that fall showing activity remains a leading indicator of spring market conditions. September’s data hints at inventory challenges continuing into next year,” Lane said.

About ShowingTime

ShowingTime® is an industry leader in home touring technology and part of the ShowingTime+™ technology suite. ShowingTime+ is a Zillow Group, Inc. brand. ShowingTime’s technology and services simplify the tour scheduling process for buyers, sellers and agents across the industry. ShowingTime products are used in hundreds of MLSs representing more than 1 million real estate professionals across the U.S. and Canada.

SOURCE ShowingTime

Denver and Seattle were again tops among the nation’s busiest markets with close to 25 showings per listing while other cities recorded impressive year-over-year gains, from Nashville’s 43% jump to a 36% increase in Orlando, according to data from ShowingTime

Chicago, IL – March 24, 2022 (PRNewswire) The latest data from ShowingTime, a residential real estate industry leading technology provider of  showing management and market stats, shows that home buyers got a  head start in February on what is proving to be a sustained busy stretch, with Denver and Seattle recording close to 25 showings per listing while a total of 109 markets averaged double digits.

Even compared to last year’s early spring frenzy of home tours, the number of markets averaging double-digit showings per listing jumped 45% from 75 to 109, according to the ShowingTime Showing Index®. Many markets matched last year’s intense buyer demand while others saw big year-over-year increases: among the top 25 busiest markets, Nashville was up 43% year over year; Orlando, 36%; and Bridgeport, Conn., 30%.

Other cities among the 25 busiest markets recording big year-over-year gains included Dallas, up 29%; Hartford., Conn., and Sarasota, Fla., up 28%: and Charlotte, N.C., up 24%.

February’s brisk activity throughout most of the country was in keeping with a trend that began in May 2020, when immediately after COVID-19 slowed real estate activity, buyers re-emerged to find their next home amid a shortage of available inventory.

“Seeing 109 markets with such impressive buyer traffic is remarkable,” said ShowingTime Vice President and General Manager Michael Lane. “A year ago, we were amazed to see 75 markets hit double digits in showings per listing. The heightened activity is widespread, with 17 states having at least one market averaging in double digits. We’re here to help agents navigate these circumstances with new features integrated into our platform tailored to meet their needs.”

For example, ShowingTime’s waitlist feature enables buyer’s agents to be notified immediately when an appointment time becomes available on a popular listing that’s fully booked. More than 50,000 appointments have been successfully scheduled to date by agents who joined waitlists. Offer Manager is another option available to help agents manage offers in today’s multiple-offer environment, equipping them to track offers, easily update every agent on the status of their offer and share a side-by-side comparison with their sellers.

The ShowingTime Showing Index is compiled using data from more than six million property showings scheduled across the country each month on listings using ShowingTime products and services. It tracks the average number of appointments received on active listings during the month.

Regionally, the South’s 19.5% surge in home tours led the country, followed closely by the Northeast’s year-over-year gain of 16.6%. The Midwest’s 10% increase rounded out the gains, while the West recorded a decline of 13.6% compared to the prior year, when traffic was at unprecedented levels.

About ShowingTime

ShowingTime is an industry leader in home touring technology and a proud affiliate ofZillow Group, Inc. ShowingTime’s technology and services simplify the tour scheduling process for buyers, sellers and agents across the industry. ShowingTime products are used in hundreds of MLSs representing more than one million real estate professionals across the U.S. and Canada.

SOURCE ShowingTime