Redfin Reports January Was the Most Competitive Month on Record for Homebuyers

Key Facts

“Buyers are battling it out for the few homes on the market in an effort to lock in relatively low payments before rates move even higher, but homeowners who bought or refinanced in the last year are staying put because they don’t want to lose their rock-bottom mortgage rate.”
During the four-week period ending Feb. 13, a record 57% of homes that went under contract had an accepted offer within the first two weeks on the market, and asking prices surged 16% year over year to a new high.
Spokane, Sacramento and Seattle Have the Highest Bidding-War Rates Spokane, WA had the highest bidding-war rate of the 40 U.S. metropolitan areas in this analysis, with 83.3% of offers written by Redfin agents facing competition in January.
“Competition really ramped up again in the second half of January because buyers started to feel desperate to lock down homes while rates were still relatively low,” said Brynn Rea, a Redfin real estate agent in Spokane, WA.