Study: Showings Plummet After First 5 Days on Market

Real estate agent showing new house to couple

© Frederic Cirou - PhotoAlto Agency RF Collections/Getty Images

The rush is on to see a house as soon as it’s listed. But after the first five days of listing a home, showings drop considerably, according to a new analysis of June home showing data from ShowingTime, a showing management and tech firm for residential real estate.

ShowingTime’s June analysis of more than 6 million properties nationwide revealed a significant slowdown in home showing traffic compared with more recent months. That may be due to more listings coming on to the market: New listings in June rose 5.5% year over year and are up 10.9% over the prior month, according to a new report from realtor.com®.

Still, the first five days of listings are “hyperactive with double-digit showings and offers submitted quickly,” according to ShowingTime.

The ShowingTime Showing Index reveals that 64 markets still averaged double-digit showings per listing during June. Seattle and Denver had the most. However, showings dropped by nearly half in June compared to May, when 113 markets averaged double-digit showings per listing.

“Buyer demand remains healthy,” says Michael Lane, ShowingTime’s president. “Showing traffic is still above last year’s levels—other than in the Northeast, where it is down 3 percent from last year—though we saw a quick month-to-month drop in the number of showings per listing in June, showing an uncharacteristically rapid slowdown in real estate demand coming into summer.”

Nevertheless, the first five days after a listing goes live are critical for buyers and will have the most activity, Lane says.

Riverside and Bakersfield, Calif.; Buffalo and Rochester, N.Y.; Los Angeles; Raleigh, N.C.; and Grand Rapids, Mich., all averaged more than 30 showings in the first five days, according to the ShowingTime index.

The Northeast was the only major region of the U.S. to post a drop in showings compared to 2020, according to ShowingTime. On the other hand, year-over-year jumps in showing traffic were highest in the South—up 20.5%—followed by a 14.4% increase in the West and a 14.1% uptick in the Midwest.

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