Why You Might Need to Bid Over the Asking Price
Even if you aren’t in the market for a home, you may have heard how crazy the North Texas housing market is this year. Who knew a pandemic would trigger a home-buying boom? Of course, the record low interest rates had something to do with the rush to purchase. And a shortage of properties on the market in the Dallas-Fort Worth area has created a once-in-a-generation environment for both home sellers and buyers.
The scramble to find houses means multiple offers, almost immediate sales and bidding wars for choice properties. Almost 20% of D-FW homes sold in September went for more than their asking prices, according to a new report by Zillow. The D-FW area houses that traded above their list prices typically went for more than $10,000 above the original ask.A year ago, only about 13% of North Texas houses sold for more than the asking price.
Nationwide, more than one in five houses that sold in September fetched more than the seller’s list price. Zillow analysts say that most of the bidding wars are for homes priced under $260,000. “The housing market is taking us all back to Economics 101 and teaching lessons about supply and demand,” Zillow senior economist Chris Glynn said in the report. “A persistent interest in buying and moving is creating an imbalance that is driving prices higher than we typically see at this time of year. In many cases, buyers in this market should be realistic about the chance of bidding wars and leave themselves financial flexibility by looking at homes listed for less than their maximum price point,” he said. “With tight inventory, low interest rates and robust demand from households re-evaluating their housing needs, a strong, competitive market with many transactions is likely here to stay into 2021.”
Looking at major metro markets, in San Francisco, Seattle and Boston, more than 40% of houses in September sold above the asking price.
In Texas, Austin has the largest share of homes going for more than list price — 27.4%. In Houston, only about 12% of residences go for more than what the sellers originally listed for. Last month, 98% of the single-family homes sold by real estate agents in North Texas went for list price or more, according to data from the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University...
