The housing market may not be experiencing the frenzy of the past couple of years but that doesn’t mean it’s at a standstill. The ShowingTime Showing Index measures how many buyers are touring houses. This graph uses the ShowingTime Showing Index to illustrate trends in buyer activity over time. It helps put today’s market into proper perspective. When you look at the grayed out years (shown above), there was a consistent trend as buyer activity peaked during the first half of every year (during peak homebuying seasons in spring) and slowed down as each year ended. However, when the pandemic struck in March 2020, this pattern was disrupted by the market’s reaction to the uncertainty that resulted (shown below in blue). Then, we entered a period of ‘unicorn years’ in housing (shown as pink). The mortgage rates were at a record low and the buyer demand was at an all-time high. Even then, seasonal trends were similar, but at higher levels. Now, let’s take a look at 2023. Traffic is down compared to the previous month, and also lower than the peaks seen in the “unicorn” years. What’s happening, however, is not a sudden drop in demand. It’s a gradual return to more normal seasonality. According to the ShowingTime report: “Showing traffic decreased about 10% in May. . . This follows a typical season pattern – disrupted but now beginning to return by the pandemic . “And to show that this is not a dramatic decline, let’s zoom into it. Here’s the graph for just the May data from the last five years. What does that mean for you? There are still buyers out there looking at homes. They are more active now than in May 2022, when sticker shock from higher mortgage rates began to set in. Remember, buyer activity remains strong. It could be even stronger, if the limited number of homes available for sale didn’t limit it. According to U.S. News, “Housing markets may have cooled, but demand is still strong, and in many areas, this is largely due the lack of homes for sale.” Bottom LineDon’t forget how active the housing market remains today. If your home is not on the market, you are missing out on all those buyers looking to buy right now. Contact a real estate agent and begin the process.

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