The new REALTORS® Confidence Index survey is here, and thousands of Realtors have weighed in to reveal the current shape of the housing market. Based on home sale data from October 2021, the stats provided by the National Association of REALTORS® reveal subdued real estate activity — both year over year and month over month.

Respondents reported taking, on average, 4.1 clients on a home tour in October, down slightly from September (4.3) and from October 2020 (4.5). But competition remains high. With supply low, homes stayed on the market for a median of 18 days: down three days from the year before and up one day from the prior month. Eighty-two percent of October closings sold in less than a month (86% in September, 72% one year ago).

In turn, affordability remains an issue for first-time buyers. Last month, they accounted for just 29% of all homebuyers as they struggled to compete with those shopping for second homes or paying cash. The share of cash sales also rose, to 24% (23% in September, 19% one year ago).

Over the next three months, the largest share of respondents — 30% — expect home prices to rise between 1% and 5%.
And during the past three months, 24% of contracts had a delayed settlement. Among those, 21% of contracts experienced appraisal issues.