Home Buyer Demand Turns Cooler as Home Tours Decline from Record-Breaking Highs

Home touring activity in June moved closer to 2019 levels as the formerly red-hot housing market cools

• Home showing activity is down across the U.S., with June seeing an 18.7% year-over-year decline in home tours – though showing activity is still well above pre-pandemic levels.
• Markets averaging double-digit home tours per listing fell from March's record high of 121 markets to three in June.
• The West region again saw the largest decline in showing activity, with buyer traffic down 44.1% year-over-year.

CHICAGO , Aug. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In what may be a welcome change for home shoppers used to abnormal market activity, the latest data from the ShowingTime Showing Index® found home showings declined again year-over-year in June – though home touring activity is still above pre-pandemic levels. ShowingTime is one of the residential real estate industry's leading technology providers of showing management and market statistics.

The decline in home showings across the country is another indicator that the housing market may be moving toward rebalancing, as inventory improves and competition among home buyers eases. The Northeast saw the smallest drop in June, with a 10.9% dip in showings. The Midwest followed with a 16.7% drop, while the South's 25.9% decline and West's 44.1% downturn rounded out the regions. The U.S. overall had an 18.7% fall in buyer traffic compared to this time last year.  

Burlington, Vt., led all markets in showings per listing in June with an average of 13.58, marking the second consecutive month in which it claimed the top spot. Notably, Burlington is also one of the few markets where showings per listing are up significantly year over year – in other markets analyzed, showings stayed flat or declined.

Rochester, N.Y. and Cleveland also saw double-digit showings per listing, rounding out the three markets to reach that distinction. The dwindling number of markets to see double-digit showings per listing represents a turnaround from the spring, when that number reached triple digits from February through April.

"Most markets are experiencing a slowdown in buyer activity, especially compared to the historically high traffic seen last year," said ShowingTime Vice President and General Manager Michael Lane. "While summer is a slower time of year for real estate compared to spring, the dip we're seeing compared to last June suggests this slowing is more about a rebalancing of an overheated market than just marking the end of the home shopping season."

About ShowingTime

ShowingTime is an industry leader in home touring technology and a proud affiliate of Zillow Group, Inc. ShowingTime's technology and services simplify the tour scheduling process for buyers, sellers and agents across the industry. ShowingTime products are used in hundreds of MLSs representing more than one million real estate professionals across the U.S. and Canada.

CONTACT:  
Elana Bodow                                                               
Barbara Wagner Communications       
(315) 440-7554                                            
[email protected]                              

Katie Prael     
Barbara Wagner Communications      
(646) 737-4600
[email protected]       

SOURCE ShowingTime