Flagging showing numbers point to a potentially favorable 2019 market for would-be homebuyers across the U.S  

 Key Points:  

• Showing traffic in December was down 7.2 percent year over year in the U.S.; the West Region continued its nearly year-long decline with a 20.1 percent year-over-year decrease in showing traffic, ending 2018 with a 12-month average drop of eight percent 
• In a reverse of the five consecutive months of year-over-year increases in showing activity that started the year, 2018 ended with five consecutive months of year-over-year decreases in buyer traffic in the U.S. 

 Home sellers across the country are happy to leave 2018 behind as December marked the fifth consecutive month of year-over-year declines in real estate showing activity nationwide, a 7.2 percent drop, according to data from the ShowingTime Showing Index®.   

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 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. 

About ShowingTime 

ShowingTime is the residential real estate industry’s leading showing management and market stats technology provider, with more than 1.2 million active listings subscribed to its services. Its showing products and services simplify the appointment scheduling process for real estate professionals, buyers and sellers, resulting in more showings, more feedback and more efficient sales. Its MarketStats division provides interactive tools and easy-to-read market reports for MLSs, associations, brokers and other real estate companies. ShowingTime products are used in more than 250 MLSs representing over 950,000 real estate professionals across the U.S. and Canada. For more information, contact us at research@showingtime.com.