Buyer Demand Index (BDI): How Many Buyers Are Competing for Your House Right Now?

At Local Home Buyers USA, we answer those three questions with three proprietary indices:

• LESI – Local Economic Stability Index (macro: jobs, income, stability)
• BDI – Buyer Demand Index (real-time hyperlocal buyer activity)
• FOS – Friction-to-Offer Score (property and seller-specific friction)

LESI looks at the local economy. FOS looks at your specific property and situation. The missing middle layer is BDI — a way to measure how many buyers are actively competing in your zip code right now.

This is our Buyer Demand Index (BDI), developed by the research team at PropTechUSA.ai and used every day to help price our offers with more precision and less guesswork.

What Is the Buyer Demand Index (BDI)?

The Buyer Demand Index (BDI) is a 0–100 score that measures how intense buyer activity is in a specific zip code in the current market, not last year’s headlines.

In plain language, BDI answers this question:

“How many people are trying to buy a house like yours in this area right now?”

Instead of basing your offer on one data point (like a Zestimate or a single comparable sale), the BDI looks at multiple live signals of buyer behavior and compresses them into a single, easy-to-understand score.

How BDI Fits With LESI and FOS

To understand why BDI matters, it helps to see the full framework:

• LESI (Local Economic Stability Index) – Measures the overall health and stability of your local market: jobs, incomes, affordability, and other data from sources like the BLS and Census. This is “slow-moving” data.
• BDI (Buyer Demand Index) – Measures how many buyers are actually active in your area right now. This is the “fast-moving,” real-time layer.
• FOS (Friction-to-Offer Score) – Measures how easy or difficult it will be to buy, close, and resell your specific property based on condition, repairs, access, title, timeline, and motivation.

Together, they let us answer three crucial questions about your offer:

1. Macro: Is this area fundamentally investable? (LESI)
2. Real-Time: How competitive is the buyer pool today? (BDI)
3. Micro: How much “friction” comes with this specific deal? (FOS)

The BDI is the critical middle layer that connects the health of the market to the real-world behavior of buyers this week, this month, right now.

The 4 Data Signals Behind the Buyer Demand Index

BDI is not a guess, a gut feeling, or a single data source. It’s a composite index built from four key metrics:

1. Real-Time Absorption Rate (AR)

What it measures: How quickly homes are being taken off the market.

We look at the ratio of pending sales over the last 30 days to the number of active listings in your area. This is known as the absorption rate.

• High absorption rate = homes are going pending quickly → stronger demand.
• Low absorption rate = listings are sitting → weaker demand.

We convert that absorption rate into a 0–100 score and use it as one of the core drivers of BDI.

2. Days on Market Trend (DOM Trend)

What it measures: Whether homes are selling faster or slower than they were recently.

Instead of just looking at “average days on market,” we look at the trend – is it going up or down?

• If homes are selling faster in the last 30 days than they did in the prior 30 days, demand is strengthening.
• If homes are selling slower, demand is cooling and buyers have more leverage.

We translate that change into a score: stronger trends push BDI up, weaker trends pull it down.

3. Mortgage Application Velocity (MAV)

What it measures: How many serious buyers are actively in the pipeline.

Looking only at listings ignores a critical piece: buyers who are getting pre-approved and writing offers. We track the velocity of local purchase mortgage applications against a recent baseline.

• More purchase applications vs. baseline = more buyers in the funnel → BDI moves higher.
• Fewer applications vs. baseline = fewer serious buyers → BDI cools.

4. Showings Per Listing (SPL)

What it measures: Real boots-on-the-ground interest.

Where available, we look at how many showings each listing is getting over the last 14–30 days, on average.

• High showings per listing = strong buyer engagement.
• Low showings per listing = listings may look good on paper, but buyers aren’t showing up.

This helps us capture buyer behavior that doesn’t always show up in the closing data until months later.

The BDI Scale: 0–100, Explained

After scoring each input (absorption rate, DOM trend, mortgage velocity, and showings per listing), we combine them into a single 0–100 Buyer Demand Index.

Here’s how to read the score as a seller:

• 0–24: “Buyer Desert” – Very weak demand. Listings tend to sit. Price cuts are common. Buyers have a lot of leverage.
• 25–49: “Cool” Market – There are buyers, but they have options. Homes still sell, but it often takes time and strong pricing.
• 50–74: “Balanced-to-Warm” – Reasonable balance between buyers and sellers. Well-priced homes sell without too much drama.
• 75–89: “Hot” Market – Multiple offers are common. Well-presented homes move quickly. Mistakes in pricing or condition still matter, but demand is strong.
• 90–100: “Red Hot” Market – Intense competition. Bidding wars and waived contingencies are common. Supply is extremely tight relative to demand.

For you as a seller, BDI tells us how aggressively we can price your offer without sacrificing speed or certainty.

How We Use BDI to Build Your Offer

Our offers are not one-size-fits-all. We use LESI, BDI, and FOS together to custom-tailor both cash offers and partnership/novation offers for your situation.

Step 1: Establish a Safe Baseline (ARV and Costs)

We start with the basics:

• ARV (After Repair Value) – What your home could realistically sell for once fixed, cleaned, and fully marketed.
• Repair and renovation costs.
• Holding, closing, and selling costs.

From there, we calculate a conservative Maximum Allowable Offer (MAO) to make sure the deal is safe on our side, even in a normal or slightly weaker market.

Step 2: Adjust for Market Strength Using BDI

BDI tells us whether we can safely be more aggressive or need to be more cautious.

In simple terms:

• Low BDI (0–24) – We’ll show you why deeper discounts are needed to protect both sides in a slow market.
• Moderate BDI (25–49) – We can still buy, but with pricing that accounts for longer times on market and more risk.
• Balanced/Warm BDI (50–74) – We can often come up into a very competitive range while still protecting our downside.
• Hot/Red Hot BDI (75–100) – In some cases, this allows us to structure partnership or novation offers that net you more than a traditional as-is sale might, while still giving you certainty and speed.

BDI never replaces sound underwriting — it refines it. It tells us how hard we can safely “lean in” to demand in your zip code, right now.

Step 3: Layer in LESI and FOS

Finally, we layer in:

• LESI – Is this area economically stable enough to justify a more aggressive offer or a longer partnership strategy?
• FOS – Does your specific property and situation make the deal easier or harder (repairs, access, legal, timeline, etc.)?

Put together, you don’t just get “a number.” You get an offer that’s:

• Grounded in data not guesswork,
• Tuned to your local market today, and
• Customized to your property and your goals.

How to Use Your BDI Score as a Seller

Once you know your Buyer Demand Index, you can make smarter decisions instead of guessing based on headlines or hearsay.

• If BDI is low: Focus on certainty and speed. A guaranteed cash offer can beat months of waiting, price cuts, and holding costs.
• If BDI is moderate: Compare options. In many cases, you can choose between a faster, cleaner cash offer or a partnership approach that targets a higher net.
• If BDI is high: Leverage demand. We’ll walk you through how a novation or partnership structure can use strong buyer competition to aim for a better net for you while still protecting your downside.

Instead of asking, “Is now a good time to sell?” you can ask a better question:

“Given my BDI score, what is the smartest way to sell my house?”

What a High or Low BDI Means for You as a Seller

If BDI Is High in Your Zip Code

If your area scores high on our Buyer Demand Index:

• There are more buyers competing for a limited number of homes.
• We may have room to structure more aggressive partnership/novation offers that aim to net you more than a traditional quick cash sale.
• You still benefit from certainty and speed, but with upside that reflects real-time competition in your market.

If BDI Is Low in Your Zip Code

If your area scores low on our Buyer Demand Index:

• We’ll walk you through how a slow market affects pricing, timelines, and risk.
• A strong, guaranteed cash offer may save you months of stress, holding costs, and price cuts.
• We’ll show you exactly how we arrived at the number, so you’re not left guessing.

Either way, BDI gives you a clear, honest picture of what’s really happening in your area today and how that impacts your bottom line.

Why Traditional Approaches Fall Short

Most sellers are used to seeing:

• A Zestimate or online estimate based on historical sales.
• A quick CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) from an agent.
• A one-line cash offer from an investor with no explanation.

The problem? These methods often ignore:

• How fast inventory is actually being absorbed right now.
• Whether buyers are speeding up or slowing down.
• How many real buyers are in the pipeline getting financed.
• What’s happening at the level of your exact zip code.

Our Buyer Demand Index was designed to fix this gap. By combining macro stability (LESI), hyperlocal buyer activity (BDI), and property-specific friction (FOS), we can explain exactly how we arrived at your offer and what levers exist to potentially improve it.

“Local Home Buyers USA — Powered by PropTechUSA.ai”

BDI isn’t a generic industry metric — it’s one of the core tools inside our broader PropTechUSA.ai research engine. When you work with Local Home Buyers USA, you’re not just getting a number written on a piece of paper. You’re getting an offer backed by:

• Local economic data (LESI)
• Real-time buyer behavior (BDI)
• Property and seller-specific friction analysis (FOS)

That’s what we mean when we say:

“Local Home Buyers USA — powered by the research of PropTechUSA.ai.”

See Your Zip Code’s BDI and Explore Your Options

If you’re thinking about selling and want to see how today’s buyer demand in your area impacts your options, we can walk you through your Local Stability, BDI, and FOS scores and show you:

• What a safe, realistic cash offer looks like today.
• Whether a partnership/novation offer could net you more.
• How current buyer demand changes the strategy in your zip code.

Next step: Share a few basic details about your property and your situation, and we’ll build your custom offer powered by our full data stack.

Get Your Data-Backed Offer

Buyer Demand Index (BDI) – FAQs

What is the Buyer Demand Index (BDI)?

The Buyer Demand Index is a 0–100 score that measures how strong buyer demand is in your zip code right now based on real-time data like absorption rates, days on market trends, mortgage application velocity, and showings per listing.

How often is BDI updated?

BDI is designed as a fast-moving index. While the underlying data sources refresh on different schedules, we treat BDI as a living score that reflects approximately the last 30 days of activity in your local market.

Is BDI the same as my home’s value?

No. BDI does not tell you what your home is worth. Instead, it measures how many buyers are competing for homes like yours right now. We use BDI alongside LESI (macro stability) and FOS (property-specific friction) to help price your offer and strategy.

Can a property have a high BDI but still get a lower offer?

Yes. A high BDI means demand in your area is strong, but your offer also depends on repair costs, condition, access, title, and your timeline — all of which are captured in your Friction-to-Offer Score (FOS). A property with heavy repairs or complex issues may still need a more conservative offer, even in a hot market.

What if data is limited in my area?

In some lower-activity or rural markets, not every signal is equally strong. When that happens, we adjust how we weight different inputs, and we lean more on regional and trend data. The goal is always the same: give you a transparent, data-backed picture of what’s happening in your market and how it affects your options.

Want to see how BDI, Local Stability, and FOS apply to your property? Start here: https://localhomebuyersusa.com/get-offer/.