Redfin Ranks 2017’s Most Competitive Neighborhoods for Homebuyers

(NASDAQ: RDFN) — The 2017 housing market was the most competitive for homebuyers since 2013, according to a new analysis from Redfin (www.redfin.com), the next-generation real estate brokerage. Just over half of all offers written by Redfin agents this year encountered competition. That’s up from 49 percent in 2016, but below 2013’s high of 65 percent. The pace at which homes went off the market made the competition more intense this year. Homes found buyers after a median 45 days on market, six days fewer than 2016.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171221005197/en/

Home-Buying Competition 2014-2017 (Graphic: Business Wire)

Home-Buying Competition 2014-2017 (Graphic: Business Wire)

Forty-one percent of homes that were listed in 2017 were Redfin Hot Homes, a designation earned by homes with 7/10 or higher odds of going under contract within their first 14 days on the market, as determined by Redfin’s proprietary algorithm.

Grass Lawn in Redmond, Washington earned the distinction of most competitive neighborhood in 2017. Nineteen of the 25 most competitive neighborhoods of 2017 were in the Seattle metro area, where 67 percent of homes listed this year were Hot Homes--the highest share of any market--and 62 percent of offers written by Redfin agents faced bidding wars. Competition was strong across the Seattle market, both in more suburban neighborhoods like Grass Lawn and Crossroads (#3) and more urban neighborhoods like Lower Queen Anne (#13). Several neighborhoods in North Seattle made the ranking, including Pinehurst (#2), Victory Heights (#10) and Licton Springs (#11).

In Grass Lawn, 73 percent of homes sold for over asking price and the typical home found a buyer in just six days. The average sale-to-list price ratio was 108.4 percent, an indication that many homes were bid up well-above asking price.

“Grass Lawn is so super-competitive because it’s very close to the Microsoft campus, and Google is also expanding its footprint in the area. It is a suburban area with mostly older homes,” said Redfin Agent Gina Madeya. “The area offers easy access to one of only two freeways that can get you across Lake Washington and into downtown Seattle and it’s also a short drive from the shops and restaurants in downtown Redmond and Kirkland.”

RankNeighborhood (City)MetroMedian Sale Price2017 Price GrowthAvg Sale-to-List Price RatioHomes Sold Above AskingMedian Days on MarketShare of Listings that were Hot Homes™
1

Grass Lawn (Redmond)

Seattle $ 665,000 35.7% 108.4% 73.1% 6 83.2%
2

Pinehurst (Seattle)

Seattle $ 530,000 36.6% 108.0% 74.1% 7 85.2%
3

Crossroads (Bellevue)

Seattle $ 559,900 47.3% 104.3% 60.8% 6 60.6%
4

North Cambridge (Cambridge)

Boston $ 760,000 29.3% 106.4% 73.6% 7 67.6%
5

Rainier View (Seattle)

Seattle $ 411,000 26.5% 108.0% 72.4% 7 70.6%
6

Newport (Bellevue)

Seattle $ 813,000 24.1% 107.0% 66.9% 6 84.6%
7

Ortega/Panama Park (Sunnyvale)

San Jose $ 1,673,100 28.7% 113.8% 93.4% 8 88.4%
8

Santa Clara North Central (Santa Clara)

San Jose $ 1,175,000 22.4% 112.1% 89.1% 8 81.8%
9

Palo Alto (Palo Alto)

San Jose $ 2,620,000 32.5% 107.7% 69.1% 9 81.8%
10

Victory Heights (Seattle)

Seattle $ 625,000 29.5% 108.0% 62.9% 7 77.0%
11

Licton Springs (Seattle)

Seattle $ 599,950 20.0% 108.5% 72.3% 6 82.0%
12

Downtown Redmond (Redmond)

Seattle $ 567,000 19.1% 107.4% 79.1% 6 82.1%
13

Lower Queen Anne (Seattle)

Seattle $ 565,000 32.9% 105.4% 62.0% 7 72.2%
14

Upper West Ridge (Woodinville)

Seattle $ 625,000 21.4% 103.5% 73.2% 5 80.5%
15

Olympic Hills (Seattle)

Seattle $ 525,000 23.5% 106.1% 70.1% 7 76.5%
16

Overlake (Redmond)

Seattle $ 820,000 19.4% 107.9% 71.4% 6 79.3%
17

Columbia City (Seattle)

Seattle $ 667,000 30.8% 107.3% 58.9% 7 72.9%
18

Bitter Lake (Seattle)

Seattle $ 510,000 34.6% 105.1% 59.5% 7 75.3%
19

Woodridge (Bellevue)

Seattle $ 865,000 22.9% 106.6% 66.7% 7 76.7%
20

Greenwood Point (Seattle)

Seattle $ 500,000 23.6% 105.2% 59.5% 6 83.3%
21

Cedar Park (Seattle)

Seattle $ 586,000 21.3% 107.4% 68.7% 7 73.5%
22

Wallingford (Seattle)

Seattle $ 875,000 21.9% 108.5% 65.2% 7 81.0%
23

West Campbell (Campbell)

San Jose $ 1,316,000 25.3% 110.1% 83.8% 9 80.0%
24

Queensborough, Brentwood, Crystal Springs (Bothell)

Seattle $ 522,500 21.5% 104.8% 63.3% 6 72.1%
25

Athmar Park (Denver)

Denver $ 308,072 16.7% 104.0% 76.9% 4 83.7%

Madeya helped a family purchase a home in Grass Lawn earlier this year. The home, which she says came on the market slightly underpriced at $860,000, was bid up to over $1 million. Her clients were absolutely in love with the home. Their offer wasn’t the highest, but they won over the sellers by waiving all contingencies, working with a reputable lender and providing a $100,000 earnest money deposit.

“This sounds extreme, but that’s what it takes in some neighborhoods because demand is so high for so few homes,” says Madeya. “My advice to a Seattle buyer is to get really clear about your full financial capability and your risk tolerance. Find out what you can truly afford and start looking at homes well below that amount, so that when that bidding war inevitably happens, you have some leverage to work with. Get clear early in the search so you and your agent can be more deliberate and strategic.”

Bidding war strategies often come with risks for the buyer, and Redfin recommends homebuyers speak to an agent to determine the appropriate strategy.

A complete methodology and additional insights on 2017 competition, including rankings of major metro areas according to bidding war and Hot Homes frequency, are available here: https://www.redfin.com/blog/2017/12/redfin-ranks-2017s-most-competitive-neighborhoods-for-homebuyers.html.

About Redfin

Redfin (www.redfin.com) is the next-generation real estate brokerage, combining its own full-service agents with modern technology to redefine real estate in the consumer's favor. Founded by software engineers, Redfin has the country's #1 brokerage website and offers a host of online tools to consumers, including the Redfin Estimate, the automated home-value estimate with the industry's lowest published error rate for listed homes. Homebuyers and sellers enjoy a full-service, technology-powered experience from Redfin real estate agents, while saving thousands in commissions. Redfin serves more than 80 major metro areas across the U.S. The company has closed more than $50 billion in home sales.

For more information or to contact a local Redfin real estate agent, visit www.redfin.com. To learn about housing market trends and download data, visit the Redfin Data Center. To be added to Redfin's press release distribution list, subscribe here. To view Redfin's press center, click here.

Contacts:

Redfin Journalist Services:
Alina Ptaszynski, 206-588-6863
press@redfin.com

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