Bidding wars are back in San Francisco, very rare in Miami

Redfin reports that fewer than 1 in 5 offers faced competition

Bidding wars are back in San Francisco, very rare in Miami

Just 16% of US home offers faced a bidding war in May according to a new report from Redfin.

According to offers written by its agents, the real estate brokerage says that San Francisco was the most competitive market among those that it operates in; 35% of offers faced a bidding war, up from 5% in January but down from 77% in May 2018.

"Earlier this year, the San Francisco housing market appeared to be running out of gas, but the recent tech IPOs have reignited competition," said Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather. "Buyers want to get in now before prices shoot up, while many would-be sellers are holding out for higher prices. With more people looking to buy homes than there are homes for sale, what you have is a recipe for bidding wars."

The least competitive market in January was Miami, where just 1% of Redfin offers faced competition. Raleigh (5%) and Dallas (6%) were the second- and third-least competitive.

Table: Share of Redfin Offers that Faced Bidding Wars

Metro Area

May 2019

May 2018

April 2019

San Francisco, CA

35%

77%

32%

San Diego, CA

24%

73%

19%

Boston, MA

19%

74%

18%

Austin, TX

16%

47%

14%

San Jose, CA

16%

83%

18%

Seattle, WA

14%

62%

16%

Philadelphia, PA

14%

51%

14%

Los Angeles, CA

13%

71%

18%

Washington, D.C.

13%

53%

13%

Portland, OR

13%

43%

15%

Denver, CO

12%

57%

20%

Atlanta, GA

12%

34%

6%

Houston, TX

11%

46%

7%

Phoenix, AZ

10%

36%

19%

Chicago, IL

8%

36%

14%

Sacramento, CA

8%

62%

13%

Dallas, TX

6%

59%

6%

Raleigh, NC

5%

43%

4%

Miami, FL

1%

33%

5%