A Very Surprising Showing Trends Chart

I received First Alliance Title’s monthly showings chart from Your Castle Real Estate and the number of showings in March and April this year dropped from January and February levels. In January and February home showings averaged about 23 showings per home per month, the highest levels ever recorded for the first 2 months of the year by YCRE. This continued the trend from the last 6 months of 2017 which showed the strongest buyer demand in each of the last 6 months of the year versus previous years.

But, March dropped to about 21 showings and April dropped even further to about 18 showings on average. This is the lowest level we have seen in the last 4 years for the month of April. Last year we averaged about 21 showings per home, an astonishing 35 showings per home in 2016, and about 24 showings per home in 2015.

Why did this happen? It may honestly be after 8 months of record demand that this demand level had to drop. Or it could be higher mortgage rates this year is slowing demand for homes. It will be intriguing to watch this leading indicator in the coming months. Personally, my number of buyer leads has increased substantially the last 2 months vs. January and February. I am also starting to see more buyers get under contract.