The chart above shows December contract activity for the past four years.  The only caveat I'll add is that the last day of 2024 contract activity is not included in the chart, though that seems unlikely at this point to swing the 2024 data point very far.

So, what is notable?

1.  Far fewer (29% fewer) buyers signed contracts in this December than last - though that may also be related to how many sellers are willing to sell at the home.

2.  About the same number of buyers (and sellers) signed contracts this December (2024) compared to two Decembers ago (2022) - though 2024 wins out by a few contracts.

Because we have seen so much movement in mortgage interest rates over the past three years and because that can impact buyer behavior, it's probably also worth noting the following related to 30 year fixed mortgage interest rates...

December 2023:  average rate declined from 7.22% to 6.61%

December 2024:  average rate modulated between 6.60% and 6.85%

Could those 101 December 2023 buyers have been reacting to declines mortgage interest rates?  Possibly so.

Could it be that there were more sellers willing to sell in December 2023 than in December 2024?  This is also quite possible.