Home buyers can take a breath. Maybe not a deep one, but a breath: Bidding wars on properties across the United States are declining, the latest sign of an easing housing market.
A new report from Redfin suggests that buyers faced less competition last month. The brokerage said that 65 percent of offers through Redfin faced bidding wars in June, down from 72.1 percent in May, according to Mansion Global. That’s a nearly 10 percent drop in the rate.
Redfin’s bidding-war rate peaked at 74.1 percent in April as a paucity of homes for sale and high demand spurred by pandemic forces sent buyers into a frenzy.
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The return of the bidding war
Nevertheless, the bidding war rate has remained stubbornly above 50 percent since the onset of the pandemic. In September and October it was about 57 percent before rising over the winter and spring.
The market nationally appears to be cooling a bit for buyers. There are still local pockets where bidding wars are as common as ever, though.
No city was more competitive last month than Sarasota, Florida, where 87 percent of offers through Redfin faced bidding wars. Competing bids were also common in Charleston, South Carolina (82.9 percent), and Reno, Nevada (80.0 percent).
[Mansion Global] — Holden Walter-Warner