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Since September, homesellers have consistently found themselves in an uncomfortable spot.
They’ve been getting plenty of offers from buyers. That hasn’t been the issue. But on average, final sale prices have come in below the original asking price at listing.
That is, until now.
The average sale price nationwide just exceeded 100 percent of list price for the first time since August of last year, according to a new market report from Redfin.
And in places like Portland, the typical sale price has been even higher above the seller’s expectations.
“Almost every home is getting multiple offers and selling over asking price,” Redfin agent Jeremy Lucas said of his Portland market in the report. “The lack of supply is making it feel almost like 2021 all over again, but higher rates mean bidding wars are happening more in the $500,000 range than the $700,000 range because people can afford less.”
Chart by Redfin
The runup since February reflects a market where spring sale-price increases have resembled those of the early pandemic. Sellers have hiked their asking prices at a slower pace throughout much of the spring and the opening days of summer.
These patterns are not that unusual for this time of year. The sale-price-to-list-price ratio typically peaks in the late spring and early summer before diving again in the late summer and fall.
But what is new is that for the first time in years, homes are peaking around 100 percent of list price, instead of, say, 2 percent above list price as in recent years.
If this pattern holds, most homesellers can expect to see a lower sale price than what they asked for in the listing throughout much of the next 12 months, as the late summer approaches and the cool winter market arrives.
Still, these kinds of price gains are notable because they came quickly on the heels of the national home-price slowdown that featured sale prices falling in the back half of 2022. According to Redfin’s data, home prices in June were back within 0.3 percent of where they were during the same four-week period last year.
Since the start of 2023, inventory has resumed its pattern of tightening, with new listings down 25 percent and total inventory down 12 percent year over year, according to Redfin.
And for now, at least, many markets continue to see upward pressure on price.
“I’m advising buyers to shop a little under their price range so they can make a strong offer,” Lucas said in the report.
