We are starting 2024 with one of the lowest counts of listings under contract we have ever recorded for the start of any year (5,127). We measured 5,456 last year and 9,393 in 2022. We have to go back all the way to the dark days of 2008 to find a lower count (3,468). 2007 was also very bad, but at 5,197 it just beats the 2024 reading.
With interest rates much lower than 2 months ago, we may start to see more accepted contract activity in the next few weeks. We normally get a lot of new listings in January too, so at this stage it is too early to tell whether supply or demand will grow the fastest. The next 3 weeks will be very important in establishing which trend is dominant. The active listing count is also low, currently just 15,224 as we start the new year.
