REALTORS® Confidence Index

Key Findings

Days on market fall to 24; sellers received an average of 2.7 offers; 24% of homes sold above the list price.

The Market Outlook from the REALTORS® Confidence Index for buyers increased slightly but is flat for sellers:

16% of respondents expect a year-over-year increase in buyer traffic in the next three months, up slightly from 13% one month ago and one year ago.
17% of respondents expect a year-over-year increase in seller traffic in the next three months, flat from one month and one year ago.

With supply still limited relative to demand, 24% of homes sold above list price, down from last month’s 29% and 35% a year ago:

62% of respondents reported that properties sold in less than one month. This is down from a month ago (65%) and from 74% in July 2023.
Homes listed received an average of 2.7 offers, down slightly from 2.9 last month and down from 3.0 one year ago.
Due to the lack of housing inventory, the pace of the market, and the use of technology, 8% of buyers purchased a home based only on a virtual tour, showing, or open house without physically seeing the home. This is essentially flat from 7% one month ago and from 9% one year ago.

Contracts typically closed in 30 days, the same as last month and one year ago. But some faced delays or termination:

6% of contracts were terminated in the last three months, essentially flat from 5% one month ago and 6% one year ago.
15% of contracts had delayed settlements in the past three months, up slightly from 13% last month and 14% one year ago.
7% of contracts were delayed due to appraisal issues, unchanged from last month and up slightly from 6% one year ago.

First-time buyers represented 29% of buyers, unchanged from last month and down slightly from 30% in July 2023. Among all buyers:

13% purchased for non-primary residence use, down from 16% last month and last year.
4% were purchased for vacation use, down slightly from 5% one month and one year ago.
1% of sellers sold to an iBuyer, unchanged from one month and one year ago.
1% of sales were distressed, down slightly from 2% one month ago but flat from one year ago.

Contract activity remains competitive:

27% of buyers had all-cash sales, down slightly from 28% one month ago and up slightly from 26% one year ago.
20% of buyers waived the inspection contingency, unchanged from one month ago and down from 26% one year ago.
22% of buyers waived the appraisal contingency, up from 22% one month ago but unchanged from July 2023.

Buyers continue to look outside of city centers for the majority of their activity at 89%.