Showings, new listings and under contracts rebound last week as expected.  Seller concessions are down and inventory is now just shy of 10,000 homes.

But days on market continues to climb- jumping fairly radically over the last 10 weeks, price reductions continue and showings per contract are record high.

Showings, New Listings and Under Contracts

As I said in last weeks article, I expected a bounce back week after a slow 4th of July holiday weekend and we got what we expected.

We hit a year to date high of 27,025 showings last week or over 50% more than the same time the last two years.

1,581 new listings hit the market last week, just 11 homes shy of the 2022 mark and 30% more than 2023.

And, 911 properties went under contract last week, about 25% more than 2023 and just surpassing 2022. 

While this activity is all good news, a deeper dive reinforces what agents and sellers are feeling.  Buyers are taking their time, negotiating harder and sellers are frustrated.

Showings to Contract and Days on Market

While the total volume of showings is high relative to the last couple years, and even high relative to the more normal years of 2018 and 2019, because inventory is higher than it has been in 13 years, lots of buyer activity is not translating to results for sellers.

Last week the average property experienced just under 3 showings, consistent with the last two years.

And to make matters worse, it is taking more showings on a property before receiving an offer, than ever before.  As of last week it is taking 30.57 showings to get a contract.  If I had to guess, I’d say that numbers comes down some over the next few weeks, but something I’ll be paying close attention to.

This just means buyers are taking their time, being cautious, viewing lots of homes and not sure they want to write an offer.

The combination of inventory increase and really patients buyers is leading to much longer days on market, hitting 39.16 average days last week.  Between now and the end of the year, days on market will get longer.

Inventory

And no surprise as it happens each year, inventory continues to climb.  Last week hit 9,945 homes and will soon surpass 10,000, possibly on its way to 12,000 by the end of September or early October.

As inventory continues to climb and buyer activity most likely declines through year-end, days on market will get longer, more price reductions will occur, buyer offers will come in lower and more sellers will be pissed off at their agent because their home isn’t selling.

But, only because most agents don’t know how to set expectations, communicate how the market is evolving and help sellers navigate relative to their goals.  But you do…

Buyers = opportunity.  Both Home prices and Interest rates are likely to modestly decline through year-end and buyers are in the “cat-bird seat”.  Buyers should be patient, find the best home available or wait until it hits the market, then be aggressive with their offer.