According to ShowingTime data, 2023 saw a boom in home showing traffic. Between December 2022, and January 2023 ShowingTime’s Showing Index saw its largest monthly increase, jumping from a reading 117.9 in December to a reading 190.8 in January.
Despite this huge jump, the index was still down 24.3% over the previous year. The index was down 32.2% in December.
All four major U.S. regions saw month-over-month increases in January. The Northeast recorded the largest jump at 67.5%, followed closely by the West (65.5%), Midwest (63%), and South (49.5%). Despite these significant monthly increases, all four regions still saw lower buyer foot traffic in January 2023 than January 2022. The West had the lowest year-over-year drop at 52%.
“It’s not unusual to see a seasonal rise in home showings January as buyers prepare for the spring market. But a larger increase than any January prior after last year’s rapid cooling is significant,” Mike Lane (Vice President of Sales and Industry for ShowingTime+) stated in a statement. “Mortgage activity this spring will play an important role in sales activity. But January’s home shows are a positive sign buyers are getting out there again and that the housing market is moving toward a new, more sustainable, normal.”
The majority of the 25 metros analyzed had an average of four to nine listings per listing. This is up from the range of two to seven listings in December. All metro areas saw month-over-month increases of showing traffic. Seattle was the most affected with 56%. Seattle was also the only metro area to have double-digit listing rates, with 10.16 showings per listing.
All metro areas saw declines year over year. The largest was Denver (9.63 listings per listing) at 62%, and Chicago (8.49 listings per listing) at 13%.
More:
Home showing traffic
Showtime
ShowingTime Index
Trends