Philly homes are inspiring bidding wars this spring, says Zillow
Plus, more than one in 10 page views on local listings are from buyers in New York.
Homebuyers in the Philadelphia area and across the Northeastern United States are facing more competition than in other areas of the country, according to an analysis by Zillow.
Zillow looked at activity on its website in March and found that for every home on the market nationwide, there were between five and six engaged shoppers — defined as people who shared or saved a home listing. The Philadelphia metropolitan area, which includes Camden and Wilmington, had about eight engaged home shoppers per listing.
And more homes in the Philadelphia region sold for more than the asking price. Nationwide, 27% of homes sold in March went for more than the final listing price. In the Philadelphia area, 42% of homes sold that month went for more than asking.
“When you have lots of buyer competition, lots of eyeballs on listings,” markets tend to have more homes selling above list price because of bidding wars, said Kara Ng, a senior economist at Zillow.
Buyers also scooped up local homes faster. Homes spent a median of eight days on the market before they were pending sale. That’s half the national median.
The Philadelphia metro is the 16th most competitive market out of the 50 largest markets, according to Zillow’s analysis.
In much of the country, the supply of homes for sale is increasing and sellers are cutting prices. But the Northeastern United States has had a history of strong homebuyer competition because builders haven’t built enough homes to meet demand, Ng said. She points to stricter building regulations and lack of space.
And the Philadelphia region’s relative affordability also helps spur homebuyer demand and, therefore, competition. Zillow found that a lot of the website traffic to the region’s home listings comes from local buyers. But more than one in 10 page views on local listings are from buyers in New York.
Homebuyers in competitive markets have to be more prepared than those in more balanced markets, Ng said.
“You have to be ready to jump when the right home comes along,” she said.
That means hopeful homebuyers should know at the start of their search how much home they can afford.
Buyers in the country’s top few competitive markets, including Buffalo and Boston, had more than 10 engaged buyers per home for sale in March, according to Zillow’s analysis. Miami, Houston, and San Antonio, Texas, are among the least competitive markets.