Redfin (www.redfin.com), a web-based national real estate brokerage, said that competition for homes across the U.S. dropped from 68.6 percent in June to 63.3 percent in July.
The translation? In the nation's busiest real estate markets (not including the Twin Cities metro), more than 60 percent of all deals involved multiple offers. That's down from a peak of 75.7 percent in March, suggesting that what has been a strong sellers' market is becoming a more balanced market.
Highlights from the report:
- San Diego and Orange County saw the largest decreases in competition, with bidding war rates falling by more than 10 percentage points in July.
- Washington, D.C.'s bidding war rate saw the smallest decline, falling just 1.2 points in July.
- Baltimore was the only metro area where bidding wars increased, with an 8.8 percentage point jump in July.
- As a result of reduced competition, winning offers fell closer to list prices for the second consecutive month.
- Nationally, the average difference between winning offers and list prices fell to 0.6 percent in July from 0.9 percent in June and 1.4 percent in May.
Redfin agents rapidly rising home prices and recent interest rate increases all contribute to the continuing trend toward a less competitive market. Redfin attributes the decline to less-measurable market forces including buyer fatigue and buyers taking summer vacations.
I talked with Rachel Musiker, a senior PR specialist for Redfin, and she said that the bidding war data is from agents in 22 markets across the country, not including the Twin Cities.
- Jim Buchta, residential real estate writer
