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Housing in the West: Not So Hot Anymore?

Homebuyers in what were some of the most competitive markets last spring are finding a lot more success in making offers this time around, according to a Redfin [1] report. This is especially true on the West Coast, which had the highest concentration of competitive markets last year.

According to the report [2], the West Coast has seen the biggest year-over-year increases in first-offer success rates. For example, 63% of the people who bought a home in the San Jose metro area in Q1 2019 successfully purchased the first home they made an offer on. A year earlier, only 25% of San Jose homebuyers successfully purchased the first home they made an offer on.

“Last year homebuyers had to pull out all the stops to land a home in competitive West Coast markets, but this year there are more homes for sale and the odds are more in the buyer’s favor,” said Daryl Fairweather, Chief Economist at Redfin. “In San Jose, the market has dramatically slowed from a year ago, and it’s actually now easier to get an offer accepted in San Jose than in many other parts of the country.”

Nationally too, the number of homebuyers who have been successful in buying the first home they bid on increased to 56% from 52% a year earlier, showing the highest first-offer success rate in three years. Despite the rise in the first-offer success rate in the West, Charlotte had the highest first-offer success rate at 70% followed by San Jose.

For the report, Redfin analyzed the home offer and purchase data from thousands of people who bought homes with Redfin agents nationwide over the past five years.

The report indicated that apart from San Jose, more homebuyers in markets such as San Diego and Seattle were also closing on the first offer they made on homes. While the first-offer success rate increased to 59% last quarter from 45% in the same period last year in Seattle, 53% of homebuyers in San Diego closed on the first home they bid on.