Quiet Holiday? Not for Most Realtors®

While home sales usually slow down over the holidays, home showings in November showed a huge spike.

According to ShowingTime, showing traffic was up nearly 50% year-to-year in November. Relatedly, existing home sales were up 9.2% year-over-year in November, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Days on the market were reduced from 38 days in November 2019 to 21 days in November 2020, NAR also reported. Additionally, more people are looking for more space in their future homes, with searches for more bedrooms and more square footage compared to previous years. Homebuyers’ desires are most likely led by spending more time at home during the pandemic.

“There is sustained interest in larger homes with more rooms,” said ShowingTime President Michael Lane. “The data suggests that consumers fortunate enough to have jobs where they can work from home want more space if they can find it, though the lack of available inventory continues to be a challenge. COVID-19 has slowed many normal activities and has contributed to fewer listings coming on the market, but agents have still been able to bring buyers to homes, whether in person or virtually,” he added.

NAR has also reported that inventory is at an all-time low, currently at 1.28 million or a 2.3-month supply, compared to a 3.7-month supply just a year ago.

“Demand is still at unprecedented levels,” said ShowingTime Chief Analytics Officer Daniil Cherkasskiy. “With inventory continuing to be at historic lows across the U.S., we are likely to see this elevated level of demand into next year’s busy season.”