BUYER DEMAND CONTINUES TO CLIMB WITH FEBRUARY’S 3.7% YEAR-OVER-YEAR INCREASE

ShowingTime’s National Showing Index exhibits 5.7 percent year-over-year increase as demand exceeds inventory

Key Points:

• Documented property sowing activity continues to increase nationally as buyer demand remains high despite low inventory in many U.S. markets

• Northeast (8.4 percent) and South (5.3 percent) regions outpace national growth, while West
(-4.4 percent) and Midwest (-0.4 percent) regions experience slight declines

• ShowingTime combines showing data with findings from its MarketStats division to provide a set of benchmarks that track demand for active listings throughout the country

Home showings on the national level posted a 3.7 percent year-over-year increase in February, according to the ShowingTime Showing Index®, as high consumer demand continued throughout the winter and ahead of the spring market, real estate’s most important time of year for booking sales.

Buyer engagement via showings in the Northeast and South regions outpaced the national numbers, with the Northeast Region exhibiting an 8.4 percent year-over-year increase and the South Region experiencing a year-over-year increase of 5.3 percent.

Showing activity in the West and Midwest regions experienced slight declines in showing activity in February, with the West Region dropping 4.4 percent and the Midwest Region declining 0.4 percent compared to the previous year. The Midwest’s decline was its first in more than a year, while the slight drop in the West snapped a six-month growth period. Those numbers can be attributed to a very busy February 2017, ShowingTime Chief Analytics Officer Daniil Cherkasskiy said.

Other issues that bear monitoring in the coming months are whether higher mortgage rates and new tax laws will impact buyers, and if the new steel and aluminum tariffs will influence the already low inventory of new homes.

“Buyer demand remains strong throughout the U.S. despite prices continuing to rise across the country,” Cherkasskiy said. “We experienced a very substantial increase in buyer activity during the last spring season, and this year seems to be just as busy throughout all of the regions. Activity in the Northeast has especially increased as we head into the spring season.”

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, which facilitates more than 4 million showings each month. It tracks the average number of appointments received on an active listing during the month. The Showing Index, released the third week of each month, will eventually be released on a weekly basis. Local MLS indices are also now available for select markets and are distributed to MLS and association leadership to provide them with another resource to share with members and the local media. To view the full report, visit www.showingtime.com/index.

About ShowingTime

ShowingTime is the leading market stats and showing management technology provider to the residential real estate industry. Its MarketStats division provides interactive tools and easy-to-read market reports for MLSs, associations, brokers, agents and other real estate companies. Its showing products and services take the inefficiencies out of the appointment scheduling process for real estate professionals, buyers and sellers, resulting in more showings, more feedback and quicker sales. ShowingTime products are used by 180-plus MLSs and associations representing more than 900,000 real estate professionals across the U.S. and Canada. Visit www.showingtime.com.