Not only are bidding wars past tense according to Redfin…16% of offers written by Redfin agents faced bidding wars in the first three weeks of March 2019 compared with 61% during the same time in 2018…56% of buyers in Q1 2019 closed on the first home they made an offer on.
Redfin reported that only 1 in 5 buyers in San Francisco, Boston, San Diego and Portland participated in bidding wars in March 2019. Again, this is a drastic difference from March 2018 when 65% of offers were met with steep competition. Even Seattle, the bidding wars capital in 2018, saw bidding war competition decrease from 72% in Q1 2018 to 127% in Q1 2019.
Nationally, the first-offer-success rate in Q1 2019 was the highest level during these last three years.
The West Coast saw the biggest y/y increases in first-offer-successes. 63% of buyers in San Jose had first-offer successes in 2019, a substantial contrast with just 25% of San Jose buyers in 2018. Only buyers in Charlotte NC had a higher percentage of first-offer-success at 70%.
Daryl Fairweather, chief economist with Redfin, said, “Last year home buyers had to pull out all of the stops to land a home in competitive West Coast markets…” This year’s dramatically slower market necessitated buyers to be prepared with their pre-approvals, precise pricing offers and proactive mindsets.
The share of buyers who were successful in purchasing the first home they bid on looked like this…
Nationally
Q1 2018 – 52%
Q1 2019 – 56%
San Diego
Q1 2018 – 38%
Q2 2019 – 53%
San Jose
Q1 2018 – 25%
Q1 2019 – 63%
Seattle
Q1 2018 – 45%
Q1 2019 – 59%
