If you were worried buyer demand disappeared when mortgage rates went up, the data shows there are plenty of interested buyers still out there. The housing market isn’t as frenzied as it was during the ‘unicorn’ years . During those years buyer demand was through the roof, mortgage rates were historically low, and home values rose like we have never seen before. But that doesn’t mean the market is at a standstill.
Nationally, demand is still high compared to the last normal years. There are plenty of buyers making moves right now. Here’s the data to prove it.
Showing Traffic is Up
The Showing Time 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 Octobers.
In the graph, the ‘unicorn’ years are shown in pink. The 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, you can tell buyers are still more active than the norm.
But showing traffic isn’t the only way to see buyer demand 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, sellers are receiving an average of 2.5 offers. Let’s look at how that compares to recent years (see graph below):
It’s true that’s fewer than the number of offers sellers were receiving during the ‘unicorn’ years (shown in pink). But compared to last year, the number is up slightly. And its higher than it was in the more normal, pre-‘unicorn’ years.
Homes Priced Right Are Selling Fast
It’s not just that sellers are still typically getting multiple offers than the norm, they are also seeing their homes sell fast. That’s a direct result of strong buyer demand. To help showcase that homes are still going quickly, let’s look at data from NAR on the median days on market for the 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. Compared to the last normal years in the market, homes are still selling much faster than they did back then. That’s good news for sellers.