The 10 cities with the most competitive housing markets
Jordan Pandy
- The most expensive and populous cities are not the most competitive for homebuying, Redfin found.
- Instead, the race to buy is heating up in small cities like Omaha, Nebraska, and Rockford, Illinois.
Even though the uber-competitive housing market days of 2021 and 2022 are mostly behind us, there are still cities where you better bring your best offer.
Redfin has uncovered the cities with the most competitive housing markets in the country. That doesn't necessarily mean the most expensive markets.
You won't find New York or Los Angeles on this list, as buyers are moving farther away from big cities. Daryl Fairweather, the chief economist of real-estate brokerage Redfin, said this is a trend we've seen before.
"There's been a pattern in the people leaving expensive areas for more affordable areas. We saw a lot of that during the pandemic," she told Insider. "A city will all of a sudden become really attractive because it's a great deal, like Austin or Boise, but then prices will go up and then it won't be such a great deal anymore. And then the next hot city emerges, like Fayetteville or Omaha," which both rank in the top five in terms of competitiveness.
Three California cities made the top 10 — San Jose, San Diego, and Sacramento — and are most likely poaching residents from Los Angeles and San Francisco, Fairweather said.
"San Francisco used to be highly competitive, but San Jose seems to be eating its lunch, along with Sacramento," she said.
While some of these cities are becoming harder to buy in, that doesn't mean it's getting easier elsewhere, Fairweather said.
According to Redfin, 33.2% of homes sold above the listing price in September 2023, up from 22.8% in 2019 but still below the May 2022 peak of 59% of homes.
Throw into the mix mortgage rates reaching a 20-year high and a dearth of homes for sale, keeping many prospective buyers on the sidelines.
Redfin measured the competitiveness of housing markets based on the number of competing offers, waived contingencies, sale to list ratio, and number of days on market.
10. San Diego, California
Median sales price in September: $898,500
Median sales price in September 2019: $610,000
Number of homes sold in September: 733, 22.4% fewer than this time last year
Median days on the market in September: 14, 14 fewer than this time last year
9. Littleton, Colorado
Median sales price in September: $603,400
Median sales price in September 2019: $417,000
Number of homes sold in September: 221, 32% fewer than this time last year
Median days on the market in September: 15, 5 fewer than this time last year
8. Anchorage, Alaska
Median sales price in September: $380,000
Median sales price in September 2019: $315,000
Number of homes sold in September: 351, 12% fewer than this time last year
Median days on the market in September: 13, 4 fewer than this time last year
7. Sacramento, California
Median sales price in September: $486,000
Median sales price in September 2019: $362,750
Number of homes sold in September: 349, 26.5% fewer than this time last year
Median days on the market in September: 11, 14 fewer than this time last year
6. Rockford, Illinios
Median sales price in September: $155,000
Median sales price in September 2019: $95,000
Number of homes sold in September: 219, 1.4% fewer than this time last year
Median days on the market in September: 7, 27 fewer than this time last year
5. Richmond, Virginia
Median sales price in September: $360,000
Median sales price in September 2019: $252,500
Number of homes sold in September: 260, 24.6% fewer than this time last year
Median days on the market in September: 11, 1 fewer than this time last year
4. Omaha, Nebraska
Median sales price in September: $270,000
Median sales price in September 2019: $185,500
Number of homes sold in September: 517, 15.1% fewer than this time last year
Median days on the market in September: 11, 1 more than this time last year
3. Fort Wayne, Indiana
Median sales price in September: $210,000
Median sales price in September 2019: $186,000
Number of homes sold in September: 283, 21.6% fewer than this time last year
Median days on the market in September: 5, same as this time last year
2. Fayetteville, North Carolina
Median sales price in September: $206,500
Median sales price in September 2019: $122,000
Number of homes sold in September: 265, 33.4% fewer than this time last year
Median days on the market in September: 7, 3 fewer than this time last year
1. San Jose, California
Median sales price in September: $1,370,000
Median sales price in September 2019: $945,000
Number of homes sold in September: 446, 29.5% fewer than this time last year
Median days on the market in September: 11, 18 fewer than this time last year
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