Potential Home Buyers Lose Interest as Showing Activity Drops Broadly with Consecutive Monthly Declines; Trend Likely to Continue into 2019

South Region records second month of decreasing activity vs. 2017, while the West, Midwest and Northeast continue to report reduced showing activity compared to 2017's record numbers

Dec. 21, 2018, Chicago, IL – Buyer traffic across the U.S. declined 5.4 percent year over year in November, continuing its decline over the prior year and marking the second month in a row showing activity was down in each region and in the U.S. as a whole, according to the ShowingTime Showing Index®.

The West Region had the biggest year-over-year decline, with November showing traffic off 12.4 percent vs. November 2017. The Midwest was next with an 8.4 percent year-over-year decline, its fourth consecutive month of decreasing demand. The South Region dropped 5.0 percent, while the Northeast declined 2.0 percent.

"We are ending the year with demand going down year over year across the U.S., particularly in the West and the Midwest," said ShowingTime Chief Analytics Officer Daniil Cherkasskiy. "It's important to be careful when looking at showing traffic in the slow season, but the trends we observed in 2018 point to a further slowdown in demand in 2019's busy season. That should relieve upward pressure on home prices and possibly lead to a buildup of inventory."

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 facilitate more than 4 million showings each month.

Released on or around the 20th each month, the Showing Index tracks the average number of appointments received on an active listing during the month. Local MLS indices are also available for select markets and are distributed to MLS and association leadership.

To view the full report, visit www.showingtime.com/showingtime-showing-index/.

About ShowingTime

ShowingTime is the leading showing management and market stats technology provider to the residential real estate industry, with more than 1.2 million active listings subscribed to its services. Its MarketStats division provides interactive tools and market reports for MLSs, associations, brokers, agents and other real estate companies, along with recruiting software that enables brokers to identify top agents. Its showing products take the inefficiencies out of the appointment scheduling process for real estate agents, buyers and sellers. ShowingTime products are used in more than 250 MLSs representing over 950,000 real estate professionals across the U.S. and Canada.