Bidding wars on home listings reached all-time high in April

While some say homebuyer competition could peak in the near future, it only climbed to new heights in April.

Bidding wars reached an all-time high, with 72% of listings receiving multiple bids in the month, according to Redfin. It represents a jump from 66.7% in March and 44.9% in April 2020. It’s also the 12th consecutive month in which over 50% of marketed homes faced bidding wars.

The lack of available housing supply, sub-3% mortgage rates and loosening pandemic restrictions created a perfect storm for fierce competition and surging home prices. This combination caused a record high 48% of homes to sell above list price in the four week period ending May 2. Potential buyers are growing discouraged with the intense conditions.

Among the 45 largest metro areas, Salt Lake City faced the highest competition with 83.5% of properties undergoing bidding wars — a share that actually fell from 86.1% in March.

“The people that live here want to stay here and we're seeing a lot of buyers from the West Coast and other major cities migrate this way paying all cash,” Salt Lake City Redfin agent Campbell Dosch said in an interview. “Move-up buyers are having a hard time because they can sell their home in a weekend, but they can't buy anything because everything’s selling too quickly and nobody's accepting contingent offers, making it a catch-22 for that crowd. And it's like this all the way from Ogden down to Provo.”

San Diego and Spokane, Wash., closely followed in a tie, with an 83.3% bidding war share, up from 78.7% and 75%, respectively, in March. Boise, Idaho’s 81.8% and Phoenix’s 80.5% rounded out the top five.

Jacksonville, Fla., had the least competition at 43.2%, dropping from 60.7% the month prior. Bakersfield, Calif., came next at 50%, falling from 75% in March, Miami’s 54.2% followed, up monthly from 52.8%.