More consumers are shopping for properties online. Realtor.com®’s monthly traffic surged to an all-time high of 86 million unique users in June, which topped May’s record of 85 million unique users. Also, on June 25, realtor.com®’s traffic reported a record high of 7 million unique users on a single day.
But home shoppers have fewer homes to view online. Total listings remain 31% below a year ago.
“The consistent, record-level home buyer interest we’ve detected on realtor.com® over the last five weeks is setting up the tightest summer homebuying season on record,” says Javier Vivas, director of economic research for realtor.com®. “All-time low mortgage rates and easing job losses have boosted buyer confidence back to pre-pandemic levels. With supply at record lows, the backlog of demand portends increased competition and a seller’s market in the weeks ahead.”
Still, Vivas cautions that “while buyers are back, growth in home sales this summer will be constrained by the slow return of sellers and the limited amount of homes hitting the market.”
Realtor.com®’s Housing Market Recovery Index shows the West continuing to lead the real estate recovery. The region is now above its pre-COVID benchmark. The Northeast surpassed its recovery baseline last week. The South and Midwest remain below their pre-COVID benchmark but are making a steady recovery, realtor.com® notes.
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Looking for more insight? Here is a another great article about Buying a New Home During Times of Uncertainty.