I am not quite sure why it's happening, or whether I am seeing something on the micro level before the macro impact is felt, but...

There is real estate folklore about how showings and listings activity picks up post-Super Bowl.  I am seeing it first-hand -- the Spring Buying Season has started.

I am also seeing how the season's first set of buyers has a tremendous amount of bargaining power.  The sellers are thrilled that traffic is pcking up after a long, cold winter. 

To that end, buyers that wait to start looking will see competition from other buyers and should get expect to pay more for a new home.

The economics of this observation make sense. 

Home buyers have an advantage when there are many sellers and few buyers.  As more buyers enter the market,though, the relative number of sellers decreases.  This is bad for the buyers.  The Supply and Demand balance is shifting away.

The early bird indeed gets the worm.

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Dan Green is an active loan officer. Email or call 513-443-2020. Dan is on Twitter at @mortgagereports.