Hundreds of homes in Oakland, San Jose and San Francisco sold for at least $100,000 over the asking price between Jan. 1 and Feb. 15, according to a new study by Redfin.
The breakdown by number of homes sold for six figures over asking has the three Bay Area cities in the top five nationally. But when it comes to the correlating rate of homes listed, those cities easily sweep the top three spots:
- Los Angeles: 718 (11.3%)
- Oakland: 580 (29.8%)
- San Jose: 490 (45.5%)
- Seattle: 488 (17.1%)
- Anaheim: 365 (14.8%)
- San Francisco: 335 (40%)
A basic 1,500-square-foot home in Sunnyvale recently sold for $2.8 million, $800,000 over the asking price. Redfin says January was the most competitive month on record nationwide as buyers tried to take advantage of low mortgage rates.
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"Mortgage rates are up from where they were at the end of last year, and will likely continue to rise," said Daryl Fairweather, Redfin's chief economist. "And that will make borrowing to buy a home more expensive. I think part of the reason we’re seeing a rush to buy a home is people want to get ahead of those rising mortgage rates, but over time, they will go up and they will start to put a dent in demand."
Nationwide, the number of homes that sold for six figures over asking during the first month and a half was 2,421, or 1.8%, according to Redfin.
