Continuing a nearly year-long span of decreasing demand for available residential real estate, the West Region saw a 20.1 percent drop in showing traffic year-over-year in December. The South Region followed that trend, recording a 10.9 percent decline in activity. The Midwest Region also experienced a decline with a 7.9 percent year-over-year drop, as did the Northeast Region, which had a modest 1.5 percent drop compared to showing activity in December 2017.
The news is not all dour, however; as ShowingTime Chief Analytics Officer Daniil Cherkasskiy noted, falling showing activity could make for appealing conditions for prospective buyers throughout the country in 2019.
“Buyer traffic continues to subside across all regions of the U.S. compared to the record numbers recorded at the same time last year,” said Cherkasskiy. “In some markets this is happening despite a stabilization of prices, but this is potentially good news for buyers, who are seeing less competition in the market when trying to buy a home.”
The ShowingTime Showing Index, the first of its kind in the residential real estate industry, is compiled using data from property showings scheduled across the country on listings using ShowingTime products and services, providing a benchmark to track buyer demand. ShowingTime facilitates more than four million showings each month.
Released during the third week every month, the Showing Index tracks the average number of appointments received on active listings during the month. Local MLS indices are also available for select markets and are distributed to MLS and association leadership.
To view the full Showing Index report, click here.
