Sluggishness portends slower spring showing and sales activity in key markets across U.S.

Feb. 21, 2019 – If January is any indication, home sellers are bracing themselves for a tenuous start to 2019, as the first month of the year saw a nine percent drop across the U.S. in year-over-year residential showing activity, according to data from the ShowingTime Showing Index®.

In a notable contrast to January 2018, when the 12-month average year-over-year increase in showing traffic nationwide was 7.7 percent, January 2019 saw the 12-month average decline to almost one percent. The decrease in showing activity has been felt throughout the country but most noticeably in the West Region, which experienced an 18.8 percent year-over-year drop last month. The Midwest Region recorded a year-over-year decline of 12.4 percent in January, with the South Region not far behind with a year-over-year drop of 11.5 percent. The Northeast Region saw a more modest drop of 2.4 percent in January.

"Showing traffic continues to subside from last year's impressive heights," said ShowingTime Chief Analytics Officer Daniil Cherkasskiy. "In January, we did not see an influx of home shoppers to reverse year-over-year declines in showings, which suggests that we may see slower traffic this spring compared to last year."

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.

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 [email protected].