If you were worried buyer demand disappeared when mortgage rates went up, the data shows plenty of interested buyers still out there. The housing market isn’t as fierce as during the “unicorn” years when buyer demand was through the roof, mortgage rates were historically low, and home values rose like we’ve never seen before. But that doesn’t mean the market is at a standstill.
Nationally, demand is still high compared to the last average years in the housing market and plenty of buyers are making moves right now. Here’s’ the data to prove it.
Showing Traffic Is Up
The ShowingTime Showing Index is a measure of how frequently buyers are touring homes. The graph below uses that index to show buyer activity over the past eight October:
In the graph, the “unicorn” years are shown in pink. You can see demand has dipped some since then. That’s’ in response to higher mortgage rates. But, when you compare 2023 to the blue bars on the left that represent the last average years in the market (2018-2019), you can tell buyers are still more active than the norm.
But showing traffic isn’t the only way to see buyer demand, which is still high. The number of offers other sellers are getting and the average days homes are on the market tell the same story.
Sellers Are Still Seeing Multiple Offers
According to the latest data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), sellers receive an average of 2.5 home offers. Let’s look at how that compares to recent years (see graph below):
That’s fewer than the number of offers sellers received during the ‘unicorn’ years (shown in pink). But compared to last year, the number is up slightly. And it’s higher than in the more ordinary, pre-unicorn’ years in the housing market, too.
Homes Priced Right Are Selling Fast
And it’s not that sellers are still typically getting multiple offers more than the norm; they’re always saying their homes sell fast. That’s a result of solid buyer demand. According to Zillow:
“. . . low inventory levels are spurring surprisingly strong competition . . . demand has remained resilient, and attractive, appropriately priced listings are moving quickly.”
To help showcase that homes for sale are still going quickly, let’s look let’s ata from NAR on the median days on the market for this same time of year from 2018 through now (see graph below):
As the graph shows, this year, homes are sitting on the market only slightly longer than during the frenzy of the ‘unicorn’ years. And compared to the last average years in the market, homes are still selling much faster than they did back then. That’s good for sellers because it means there are eager buyers out there right now.
Bottom Line
You haven’t a chance to sell at a time when sellers are receiving multiple offers and homes are selling fast. When you’re ready to sell your house, let’s get the ball rolling.
