The share of offers facing a bidding war has slumped to just 15%
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Most homebuyers will avoid bidding wars, a big change from a year ago according to Redfin.
Just 15% of the offers written by its agents in April faced competition compared to 60% in April 2018.
"Right now could be as good as it gets for buyers who want to avoid getting involved in bidding wars and price escalations," said Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather. "There are many forces at play that may lure buyers back and create more competition in the near future. Interest rates are low compared to last year, price growth has stalled and have even fallen in some West Coast markets, and wages are growing."
Even in San Francisco, the most competitive market in the US, just 22% of offers faced competition and although that’s more than the 17% that did in January, it’s way down from the 75% of April 2018.
But we may be in a window of opportunity in San Francisco according to Fairweather.
"Multiple billion-dollar San Francisco-based companies are going public this year, so I wouldn't be surprised to see Bay Area bidding wars come back with a vengeance, pushing prices back up by next year," he said.
Around 1 in 5 offers written by Redfin agents in Phoenix and San Diego saw competitive bids, while those in Miami (3%), Raleigh (5%), and Dallas (7%) were the least competitive markets.
