More than 50% of homes sold in the top 50 metro areas sold for more than initial list price for the second consecutive month, according to new data from OJO Labs released this week. It’s also the second time half of all homes were sold above list price since the Austin-based real estate technology company began tracking the competition indicator in July 2021, which shows competition is still high despite inventory levels starting to rise.
According to the report, 53% of homes sold above list price in May. It’s a slight increase from the previous month when 52% of homes sold above list price and an even greater increase from May 2021 when 46% of homes in the nation’s top 50 metros areas sold above list price.
the OJO report shows that while the percentage of homes selling above list price continued to increase, the actual premium that buyers should expect to pay decreased slightly from last month, which means the cost of that high level of competition is slightly waning. U.S. homes in May sold for an average of $12,895 above list price across the same metro areas. In April, that premium amounted to $13,655 and in May 2021, buyers paid, on average, $7,183 above list price in the nation’s top metros, OJO stated.
San Francisco, California, was once again the nation’s most competitive metro area, as has been the case every month since OJO Labs began tracking the data, the company stated. In April, 78% of homes in San Francisco sold above list price, and the average home sold for $160,391 above the initial list price—down from more than $190,000 last month.
Boston, Massachusetts made a surprise leap up the list and registered as the nation’s second more competitive metro with 71% of homes being sold above initial list price in the New England city, according to the report. Homes sold for, on average, $26,005 above list price in Boston in May, up from $23,206 last month and $10,192 at this time last year.
OJO’s report showed that Hartford, Connecticut; San Diego, California; and Denver, Colorado, rounded out the top five most competitive metro areas, all of which finished with greater than 65% of homes selling above list price in May. In total, 17 metros finished the month with 60% or more of all home sales coming in above list price.
Also, Seattle, Washington, had buyers paying the second-highest premium behind San Francisco, with the average home selling at $42,293 above list price, followed by San Diego, where buyers paid $38,780 above list price.
Finally, Norfolk, Virginia, was the nation’s least competitive metro, with only 8% of homes selling above list price, the report stated. The rest of the bottom four were all in Florida, with Fort Myers, Pensacola, Miami, and West Palm Beach seeing fewer than 40% of all homes sold above list price. The biggest price discount came in Miami, where the average home sold for $8,370 below list price.
