Almost Three-Quarters of Home Offers Written By Redfin Agents Faced Bidding Wars In April

Rhea-AI Summary

In April 2021, 72% of home offers by Redfin agents faced competition, increasing from 66.7% in March and 44.9% in April 2020. This rise reflects heightened demand due to low mortgage rates and a shortage of available homes. Notably, nearly half of homes sold are exceeding their list prices. The top competitive markets include Salt Lake City (83.5%), San Diego (83.3%), and Spokane (83.3%). Cash offers are becoming more prevalent, particularly in Boise, impacting buyers without significant financial resources.

Positive

• None.

Negative

• Increased competition may lead to market volatility and potential bidding wars that can deter some buyers.
• Cash offers being prevalent could disadvantage buyers without substantial financial backing, potentially limiting market access.

SEATTLE, May 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- (NASDAQ: RDFN) — Nearly three-quarters (72%) of home offers written by Redfin agents in April faced competition, according to a new report from Redfin (www.redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. That's up from a revised rate of 66.7% in March and 44.9% in April 2020. It's important to note that the April 2020 bidding-war rate was impacted by pandemic stay-at-home orders that temporarily halted homebuying and selling.

Americans who have set out to buy homes during the coronavirus pandemic have grappled with relentless competition—the result of surging homebuyer demand due to low mortgage rates and remote work. This has exacerbated an existing shortage of homes for sale, which has driven up competition even further. Bidding wars are so fierce that nearly half of homes are fetching more than their list prices, a recent Redfin report found.

With spring homebuying season in full swing, there are no signs that the market will slow down anytime soon, according to Boise, ID Redfin real estate agent Kristin Lopez.

"Bidding wars are intensifying. 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 and Boise Are Two of the Most Competitive Markets
Salt Lake City had the highest April bidding-war rate of the 45 U.S. metropolitan areas in Redfin's analysis, with 83.5% of offers written by Redfin agents facing competition. Next came San Diego and Spokane, WA, both at 83.3%. Boise and Phoenix rounded out the top five, 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," said Lopez. "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."

Bidding-War Rates By Metro Area
To be included in the table below, metros must have had at least 20 offers recorded by Redfin agents in both April 2021 and March 2021. The table is sorted by highest to lowest bidding-war rates in April 2021. Blank spaces in the April 2020 column represent metros for which there were fewer than 20 offers submitted by Redfin agents that month.

U.S. Metro Area	Share of Redfin offers that faced bidding wars in April 2021	Share of Redfin offers that faced bidding wars in March 2021	Share of Redfin offers that faced bidding wars in April 2020
Salt Lake City, UT	83.5%	86.1%	57.5%
San Diego, CA	83.3%	78.7%	53.8%
Spokane, WA	83.3%	75.0%	—
Boise, ID	81.8%	85.2%	—
Phoenix, AZ	80.5%	74.6%	38.3%
Boston, MA	79.7%	74.8%	56.3%
Charlotte, NC	79.1%	76.5%	50.0%
Seattle, WA	79.0%	74.8%	50.8%
Indianapolis, IN	78.9%	66.7%	—
Raleigh, NC	78.7%	75.6%	25.7%
Denver, CO	78.5%	73.9%	37.3%
Washington, D.C.	77.4%	63.1%	47.9%
Virginia Beach, VA	76.7%	83.0%	45.0%
Dallas, TX	75.3%	56.1%	43.2%
Nashville, TN	74.5%	63.0%	—
Urban Honolulu, HI	74.4%	66.2%	—
San Francisco / San Jose, CA	73.2%	77.8%	54.2%
Portland, OR	72.9%	64.2%	51.6%
Cleveland, OH	71.4%	48.7%	—
San Antonio, TX	71.3%	53.2%	46.2%
Columbus, OH	71.2%	73.2%	—
Austin, TX	71.1%	54.9%	44.9%
Las Vegas, NV	71.1%	81.0%	55.0%
Minneapolis, MN	69.9%	78.3%	42.4%
Detroit, MI	69.2%	78.4%	—
Tucson, AZ	69.2%	64.5%	—
Sacramento, CA	68.8%	61.7%	54.5%
Philadelphia, PA	68.6%	66.8%	40.5%
Tampa, FL	67.5%	70.0%	20.0%
Orlando, FL	67.2%	55.3%	45.2%
Colorado Springs, CO	66.2%	77.2%	—
Pittsburgh, PA	66.2%	82.0%	—
Chicago, IL	65.9%	52.3%	31.2%
Atlanta, GA	64.8%	44.1%	39.3%
Los Angeles, CA	64.4%	70.6%	53.6%
Houston, TX	62.4%	60.4%	36.2%
New York, NY	61.1%	63.7%	47.1%
Cincinnati, OH	60.0%	73.5%	—
Cape Coral, FL	59.1%	51.9%	—
New Orleans, LA	58.6%	46.4%	—
Bend, OR	57.1%	52.8%	—
Oklahoma City, OK	56.8%	71.4%	—
Miami, FL	54.2%	52.8%	30.6%
Bakersfield, CA	50.0%	75.0%	—
Jacksonville, FL	43.2%	60.7%	—

To read the full report, please visit: https://www.redfin.com/news/real-estate-bidding-wars-april-2021 

About Redfin 
Redfin (www.redfin.com) is a technology-powered real estate broker, instant home-buyer (iBuyer), lender, title insurer, and renovations company. We sell homes for more money and charge half the fee. We also run the country's #1 real-estate brokerage site. Our home-buying customers see homes first with on-demand tours, and our lending and title services help them close quickly. Customers selling a home can take an instant cash offer from Redfin or have our renovations crew fix up their home to sell for top dollar. Since launching in 2006, we've saved customers nearly $1 billion in commissions. We serve more than 95 markets across the U.S. and Canada and employ over 4,100 people. 

For more information or to contact a local Redfin real estate agent, visit www.redfin.com. To learn about housing market trends and download data, visit the Redfin Data Center. To be added to Redfin's press release distribution list, email press@redfin.com. To view Redfin's press center, click here.

 

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SOURCE Redfin

FAQ

What percentage of home offers in April faced competition according to RDFN?

In April 2021, 72% of home offers written by Redfin agents faced competition.

How does the April 2021 bidding competition compare to previous months?

The competition increased from 66.7% in March 2021 and 44.9% in April 2020.

Which U.S. metropolitan area had the highest bidding-war rate in April 2021?

Salt Lake City had the highest bidding-war rate at 83.5%.

What is the outlook for the housing market as of April 2021?

There are no signs of the market slowing down, with intense bidding wars and increased cash offers.

What factors are driving competition in the housing market?

Increased demand due to low mortgage rates and a significant shortage of homes for sale are driving competition.