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Home buyers continue to drive up home prices in bidding wars, and some are willing to offer six figures above the asking price to beat the competition. In the U.S., 5,897 homes sold for at least $100,000 over the asking price at the beginning of this year. That is up from 2,241 during the same period a year ago, according to a new analysis from Redfin of the 50 biggest metros from Jan. 1 to Feb. 15, 2022.
The Los Angeles area saw the highest number of six-figure offers above the list price—718 homes sold for at least $100,000 above the asking price, the study shows.
Competition remains steep in the housing market. January was the most competitive month on record for bidding wars, according to Redfin’s bidding war index. Seventy percent of home offers written by Redfin agents faced bidding wars in January.
“The housing market was in a frenzy in the beginning of 2022, with buyers competing for a limited supply of homes and sellers reaping the rewards of bid-up prices,” says Taylor Marr, Redfin’s deputy chief economist. “Buyers are likely to face strong competition at least through the next few months as demand is buoyed by the temporary drop in mortgage rates fueled by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But bidding wars may ease a bit by summer as more new listings come on the market and mortgage rates resume their rise. Homes are still likely to sell above list price, but the premiums will probably be lower.”
The Markets Where Prices Surge the Most in Bidding Wars
Six of the top 10 metros where homes are selling for $100,000 or more above list price are in California. According to Redfin, the markets seeing some of the highest bids above list price are:
- Los Angeles: 718 homes sold for at least $100,000 above the asking price
- Oakland, Calif.: 580 homes
- San Jose, Calif.: 490 homes
- Seattle: 488 homes
- Anaheim, Calif.: 365 homes
- San Francisco: 335 homes
- San Diego: 323 homes
- Boston: 158 homes
- Denver: 125 homes
- New York: 109 homes