The number of home showings across the U.S. jumped 20.2 percent year-over-year in January — the largest spike since data firm ShowingTime first started tracking these numbers in 2016.
Released on Monday, the report found nationwide growth for the sixth consecutive month. The Western region, in particular, saw a dramatic spike in home showings, which are up 34.2 percent. The South saw a 21.6 percent year-over-year increase while the Northeast and the Midwest saw 20.6 and 15.7 increases, respectively.
“We continue to see substantial increases in buyer traffic,” ShowingTime Chief Analytics Officer Daniil Cherkasskiy said in a prepared statement. “While only a portion of the markets showed spikes in November – December 2019, showing traffic increased across the board for almost all markets in January.”
ShowingTime
ShowingTime first launched out of Chicago in 1999 and uses data to track and analyze home showings. The numbers relate only to showings — ShowingTime does not analyze sales and closings. That said, the data shows that an increasing number of people are interested in buying homes and are taking active steps to get there, even at a time of year when showings tend to slow down due to factors like weather. Last January, home showings were down 9.6 percent year-over-year.
“It’s important to note that January 2019 traffic was somewhat subdued due to extreme weather conditions in parts of the country at the time, reflecting an exaggerated year-over-year growth for January 2020,” Cherkasski said. “Even so, the number of appointments per listing have gone up to record levels based on activity we see in our systems, suggesting that the housing market will be quite competitive this spring.”