69. 70% of home offers written by Redfin agents faced bidding wars in Jan. 2022

Redfin Reports January Was the Most Competitive Month on Record for Homebuyers 70% of home offers written by Redfin agents faced competition in January, up from roughly 60% a year earlier and the highest share in Redfin’s records SEATTLE--Wednesday, February 23, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- (NASDAQ: RDFN) —Seventy percent of home offers written by Redfin agents faced bidding wars in January on a seasonally adjusted basis, up from 67.7% in December and 61% in January 2021. That’s the highest share since at least April 2020, when Redfin began recording this data. This is according to a new report from Redfin (www.redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. The housing market was more competitive than ever in January as mortgage interest rates jumped, prompting buyers to rush to make offers on homes before rates increased further. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 3.55% at the end of January, up from 3.11% at the end of December and a record low of 2.65% about a year earlier. January was the first time rates surpassed 3.5% since March 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic was just beginning. Rates have since jumped even higher, reaching 3.92% during the week ending Feb. 17, 2022. Redfin economists currently predict the 30-year fixed mortgage rate will reach 4.3% by the end of 2022. Mortgage rates are expected to increase as the Federal Reserve raises interest rates in an effort to alleviate inflation. “Rising mortgage rates are intensifying an already-severe shortage of homes for sale because buyers are feeling more urgency to buy while homeowners are feeling less urgency to sell—an imbalance that’s fueling an increase in competition,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. “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. Meanwhile, new listings dropped 8%, sending housing supply to a new low. --- Redfin media release continues in the We Get Around Network Forum (www.WGANForum.com) here: https://forum.we-get-around.com/topic/16486/page/1/70-of-home-offers-written-by-redfin-agents-faced-bidding-wars-in-jan-2022/