June brought a “rapid slowdown” in homebuyer demand, but showings were “still hyperactive” in the first five days of listings, according to showing management company ShowingTime.
ShowingTime tracks data from more than 6 million property showings scheduled across the country each month. The company’s Showing Index tracks the average number of appointments received on active listings during the month.
In June, 64 markets averaged double-digit showings per listing during the month, down from 113 markets in May and way down from 146 markets in April, the company said in a press release. Listings in Seattle and Denver saw the most showings, followed by Riverside and Bakersfield, California; Buffalo and Rochester, New York; Los Angeles; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Even though the volume of showings is down compared to prior months, showing calendars still filled up quickly in the first five days listings were active, according to ShowingTime. Listings in Riverside and Bakersfield, California; Buffalo and Rochester, New York; Los Angeles; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Grand Rapids, Michigan, each averaged more than 30 showings in the first five days, the company said.
“Buyer demand remains healthy,” said ShowingTime President Michael Lane in a statement. “Showing traffic is still above last year’s levels — other than in the Northeast, where it is down 3 percent from last year — though we saw a quick month-to-month drop in the number of showings per listing in June, showing an uncharacteristically rapid slowdown in real estate demand coming into the summer.
“This is likely to cause an increase in inventory levels in the coming months and ease the upward pressure on real estate prices that has pushed them to historic highs over the last 12 months.”
Showing traffic nationwide jumped 7.8 percent year over year in June. Three out of the four regions of the U.S. saw year-over-year increases in showing traffic last month: up 20.5 percent in the South, 14.4 percent in the West and 14.1 percent in the Midwest.
Only the Northeast saw a decrease — down 3.2 percent — and “the first drop in showing activity in any region since April 2020 when real estate continued to grapple with the effects of the pandemic,” ShowingTime said.