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Bidding wars are up in Philadelphia, defying national downward trend

In Philadelphia, 36.5 percent of all Redfin offers faced one or more competing bids in 2018, compared to 30 percent last year.

Philadelphia was the only metro area where buyers faced significantly more competition in November 2018 than in November 2017.
Philadelphia was the only metro area where buyers faced significantly more competition in November 2018 than in November 2017.Read more

Bidding wars — competing offers on the same property — are at their lowest level since real estate giant Redfin began tracking that data in 2011, a new report from the company shows.

But not in Philadelphia.

Nationally, 32 percent of Redfin offers in November faced competition. That’s down from 45 percent last year. But in Philadelphia, 36.5 percent of all Redfin offers faced one or more competing bids. That’s up from 30 percent since last year. That also makes Philadelphia the only metro area served by Redfin where competing offers are significantly up. The report points to shrinking inventory and quicker-selling properties in the city as the leading factors why.

Some zip codes in coastal markets are still experiencing plenty of bidding wars, but still fewer than this time last year. Parts of Oakland in California, Washington, D.C., and Orange County, California, saw at least 85 percent of Redfin offers facing one or more bids. San Francisco, Boston and San Jose each saw 70 percent or more Redfin offers facing competition.