Buyers aren’t simply opening their wallets to buy homes this year — they’re emptying out their pockets and car cup holders too.
Almost 6,000 homes have been sold for at least $100,000 above the asking price through Feb. 15, according to Redfin. The figure is well more than double those sold in the same period in 2021, which reached just over 2,200.
The pricey sales account for 1.8 percent of the share of home sales so far this year, up from 0.7 percent last year.
As has been the case for much of the last year, strained supply against high demand has squeezed buyers into lofty bids in hopes of their dream home. Competition remains high for buyers: a record 70 percent of home offers written by Redfin agents faced competing bids in January.
Meanwhile, the median home sale price is $376,200, close to an all-time high.
“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,” said Redfin deputy chief economist Taylor Marr, who added that demand could surge as mortgage rates temporarily drop following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Homes are still likely to sell above list price, but the premiums will probably be lower [by the summer],” Marr added.
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Nowhere are homes selling six figures above asking price more often than Los Angeles, where 718 homes have sold for at least $100,000 above ask through Feb. 15, according to Redfin. That accounts for 11.3 percent of all home sales in the metro, up 7.4 percentage points year-over-year.
Six of the top 10 metros to meet the above ask criteria were in California, as Los Angeles was directly trailed in volume by Oakland and San Jose. San Francisco is sixth with 335 sales, a 40 percent share of the market. New York rounded out the top 10 with 109 sales exceeding the ask by six figures, 1.3 percent of the local market.
Dallas has seen a big surge this year with 95 sales meeting the threshold, up from a mere seven in 2021. Austin had 74 home sales exceed the ask by six figures, a rise from 41 last year. Miami had only four sales reach that mark at the same point in 2021, but has had 28 this year. Chicago also had four at this point last year and boasts 12 this year.
Families who don’t want to break the bank should look towards Pittsburgh and Indianapolis: both markets only had one sale go at least $100,000 above the ask through Feb. 15.