Bidding Wars Drop During Holidays

The holiday season brought some relief to buyers.

According to a new report from Redfin, bidding wars dropped to the lowest point of 2021 in November, the latest data available. The report found that 59.5% of offers had competition, the first time in 2021 the number was under 60%. It peaked in April when 74.6% of offers faced competition. Year over year, bidding wars were still up, an increase of 2.2% in November.

In Philadelphia, which was recently named one of the trendiest and most affordable places, bidding wars decreased from 66.2% to 58.3% from October to November 2021, and are up 4.3% from November 2020. In Pittsburgh, bidding wars actually increased slightly from October to November, jumping from 57.5% to 58.3%. Data wasn’t available for November 2020 for Pittsburgh.

“It’s typical for competition to ease in the winter months as more families take time off for the holidays,” Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather said. “While competition waned in November, it was still higher than a year earlier, which is a sign that demand will be strong in the new year.”

According to data from Realtor.com®, homes are still in high demand though. As of November, homes are on the market for just 46.5 days, down 18% from last November, while active listings are down 26% year over year, with just 553,510 homes on the market. Realtor.com® predicts housing inventory will increase slightly this year from 2021, jumping 0.3%, but buyers will still be facing competition, as home prices continue to rise, predicted to increase 2.9%.