2025 Wasn't a Normal Year

Most real estate data looks backward. Sales prices. Inventory. Days on market. Useful for history — but if you’re actively in the market (or thinking about it), that information can feel frustratingly late. It tells you where the market was, not where it is.

So let me share one statistic no one talks about — and one you can’t find on Zillow or Realtor.com.

It tells you what’s happening right now. And it matters whether you’re buying or selling.

I’m talking about showings. Back in May of 2022 — right after the largest interest rate hike in 30 years — something important happened. Showings began to fall. And they didn’t just dip. They declined month after month for nearly three years. Until March of 2025.That’s when showings finally began to rise again. Higher… and then higher… and then higher still.

Naturally, the big question followed: Has the market begun to shift? Has the Knoxville MSA buyer finally returned? Not so fast. Because there’s another layer to this data — and it’s the one that actually matters.

While showings have been rising, inventory has also been rising — and at a faster pace — for nearly the entire four-year stretch. So the real question isn’t how many showings are happening.  It’s this: How many showings is each home actually getting? That’s where the signal lives.

Showings per listing tells us three critical things:

1. When buyers are truly returning

2. When sellers have the best possible window to list

3. When buyers have the most leverage

Here’s what the data says. Even though total showings began rising in March 2025, inventory was still increasing faster. It wasn’t until October that showings per listing finally outperformed the prior year.

That moment matters. After nearly four years of fewer eyes on each home, the average listing finally began seeing more buyers, not just more listings. And the trend didn’t stop there. We’ve now seen four consecutive months of increasing showings per listing.

Last month? Up 22% year-over-year — despite bad winter weather that muted activity late in January. This is an early signal. Not a headline. Not a guarantee. But it is the kind of shift markets make before prices respond.

More showings per home lead to more competition. More competition eventually pressures prices upward — especially after prices have stalled, as they have for the past six months. That said, this trend is still fragile. It reacts quickly to economic news and interest rates.

Which brings us to timing — and one of the biggest misconceptions in real estate. Most people assume summer is the best time to sell. The data says otherwise.

The peak window for sellers is actually March — when showings per listing are at their highest, before inventory surges and seller competition increases. February and April follow closely behind.

For buyers, the advantage flips. Showings per listing fall in late summer and hit their lowest point in December.

Translation? If you want leverage — and fewer competing buyers — look for homes still sitting on the market during the holidays. Markets don’t turn suddenly. They drift and sway before they turn. And right now, this is a drift worth watching.

If you want to understand what this trend means specifically for your price range, your neighborhood, or your timing — click on the "Let's Chat" button and I’ll break it down for you.

Because the best decisions are made with real-time insight, not last quarter’s headlines.— Noel