Even though the housing market is no longer experiencing the frenzy that was so characteristic of the last couple of years, it doesn’t mean today’s market is at a standstill. In actuality, buyer traffic is still strong today.
The Showing Time Showing Index is a measure of how much buyers are touring homes. The graph below uses that index to illustrate buyer activity trends over time to help put today into the proper perspective.
It shows there’s seasonality in real estate. If you look at the last normal years in the market (shown in gray), there was a consistent pattern as buyer activity peaked in the first half of each year (during the peak homebuying season in the spring) and slowed as each year came to a close.
March of 2020
The market responded to the resulting uncertainty of the pandemic. (shown in blue in the middle). From there, we entered the ‘unicorn’ years of housing (shown in pink). This is when mortgage rates were record low and buyer demand was sky high. Similar seasonal trends still existed even during that time, just at much higher levels.
Now, Let’s Look at 2023
Traffic is down from the previous month. It is also lower than the peaks we saw in the ‘unicorn’ years. This is a slow return toward more normal seasonality. This isn’t a drastic decline. Here’s a graph using just the May data for the last five years. It shows just how strong buyer demand still is.
What Does That Mean for You?
Buyers are still out there touring homes. They are more active than they were in May 2022 and certainly more than they were in the last normal years. So, remember, buyer activity is still strong. And it could actually be even stronger if it wasn’t constrained by the limited supply of homes for sale.
Bottom Line
Don’t lose sight of just how active the market still is today. If your house isn’t on the market, it’s not getting in front of all those buyers who are looking to make a purchase right now. Let’s connect!