According to a report from Redfin, nearly three-quarters or, 72% of home offers written by Redfin agents in April faced bidding wars. In April of 2020, only 44.9% of home offers faced competition, and in March of this year, 66.7% of home offers faced competition. Although last year’s pandemic stay-at-home orders halted all home buying and selling, those who have been in search of a home since COVID have dealt with relentless competition.
The market shows no signs of slowing as spring homebuying season is in full swing. The existing shortage of homes for sale further increases demand, so nearly half of homes sell for more than their list price, the report states.
"Bidding wars are intensifying,” said Redfin real estate agent, Kristin Lopez, based in Boise, Idaho. “In March, we were seeing three or four offers on a home. Now, we're sometimes seeing more than 20," said Lopez. "The homes for sale today are high-quality, desirable homes—a dynamic that's fueling more competition. This is a contrast from the winter when most properties coming on the market were bottom-of-the-barrel homes. The difference is that today's sellers are folks who want to sell, whereas many sellers back in the winter had to sell and didn't have time to do any upgrades."
Spokane, WA, and Boise, ID, are two of the most competitive markets, according to Redfin’s analysis. Salt Lake City had the highest April bidding-war rate with 83.5% of offers written by Redfin agents facing competition. This is followed by San Diego, CA, and Spokane, WA, tied at 83.3% of home offers written by Redfin agents facing competition. Then Boise, ID, and Phoenix, AZ, with bidding-war rates of 81.8% and 80.5%, respectively.
"Cash offers are on the rise in Boise, which means buyers without deep pockets are frequently getting outbid," Lopez added. "Cash is on the rise in part because there are more investors in the market, but also because there are a lot of families moving here from more expensive parts of the country. Most buyers I work with are from out of state, and many of them have the cash to compete because they just sold their home in California or Seattle."
Included in the Redfin report is a table of metro areas ranked by bidding-war rates. Metros must have had at least 20 offers recorded by Redfin agents in both April 2021 and March 2021. To read the full report click here.
