Our buyer traffic data from Showing Time paints a good picture of what's going on in the market right now. Here's a quick overview. 

Aggregate buyer traffic has been decreasing with the rise in mortgage rates. 

Buyer traffic started to decrease in the month of March, as interest rates began to increase. Most recently, showings in South Central Wisconsin decreased 17% in June compared to June of 2021.

As inventory has been rising, individual listings have been receiving less traffic, too.

Here's how listing traffic has been trending for three popular price points.

$300,000 - $399,999

$400,000 - $499,999

$500,000 - $599,999

Where does the market go from here? 

As we enter a more balanced market this summer, we will see some listings continue to experience multiple offers and bidding wars. But overall, buyers and sellers will begin to realize that they are on a much more level playing field. This means we'll see longer marketing times and more price reductions. We'll even see more expired listings popping up as sellers learn to adjust their expectations for the market. 

Buyers will realize that they have a much better ability to negotiate compared to just a few months ago, and many seasoned realtors will feel that they have an opportunity to practice real estate once again. On the other hand, a record number of realtors have entered the field these last few years, and many of these newer agents will be experiencing a balanced market for the very first time.

There's no doubt this summer will be a season of change for everyone who works in the field of real estate.