Whether conducted virtually or in person, real estate showings have rebounded across North America, according to data from ShowingTime.
“The decline has stopped,” says ShowingTime chief analytics officer Daniil Cherkasskiy. “Showings are rebounding. Our data indicates they continue to increase across the board, jumping 39 per cent from two weeks ago, which represents the largest increase since the onset of COVID-19.”
The company operates in Alberta, Ontario and Nova Scotia as well as across the U.S.
“The persistent upward momentum we’re seeing affirms that there is an underlying demand from prospective buyers, even if at a level below what we’d typically be seeing during this time of year,” Cherkasskiy says. The rebound across North America has been more pronounced for homes in the $300,000 to $500,000 range, as well as higher-priced homes at $800,000 or more, the company says.
“We’re seeing innovation coming out of pain, as agents have quickly embraced virtual showings to keep their businesses going,” says ShowingTime president Michael Lane. “More and more virtual showings are scheduled every day through our systems, signaling that many markets are responding to this innovation positively.”
ShowingTime is releasing charts on its website that provide daily updates charting homebuyer showing activity across the three Canadian provinces it serves, as well as the U.S. states.
As expected, the ShowingTime Showing Index recorded declines for March, brought on by state- and province-wide shelter-in-place restrictions enforced throughout much of the U.S. and Canada. The index represents traffic only through the end of March, so it is skewed by the high showing volumes that occurred in the first three weeks of the month before the stream of new listings dried up.
The index is compiled using data from property showings scheduled on listings using ShowingTime products and services, providing a benchmark to track buyer demand. The company says it facilitates more than five million showings each month.
