Real Estate 2024: 10 Cities Where You’ll Probably Lose a Bidding War for a Home

Although housing demand has taken a slight dip over the past few months, it’s still an overall competitive market.

According to the latest United States Housing Market report from Redfin, 28.8% of homes in the U.S. sold above list price in November 2023, up 2.4 points year over year. Competition is typically the factor that causes homes to sell above their list price — the more competition there is, the more likely there is to be a bidding war to drive the sale price higher.

If you’re looking to get a house for a bargain price, it’s best to stay away from these top 10 competitive markets where bidding wars are driving prices higher.

• Redfin competitive score (out of 100): 89
• Homes sold above list price: 59%
• Median days on the market: 18
• Median sale price: $1,280,000

• Redfin competitive score (out of 100): 87
• Homes sold above list price: 51.3%
• Median days on the market: 10
• Median sale price: $350,000

• Redfin competitive score (out of 100): 87
• Homes sold above list price: 45.8%
• Median days on the market: 10
• Median sale price: $145,000

• Redfin competitive score (out of 100): 85
• Homes sold above list price: 24.2%
• Median days on the market: 13
• Median sale price: $260,000

• Redfin competitive score (out of 100): 84
• Homes sold above list price: 27.5%
• Median days on the market: 11
• Median sale price: $250,000

• Redfin competitive score (out of 100): 84
• Homes sold above list price: 45.2%
• Median days on the market: 19
• Median sale price: $490,000

• Redfin competitive score (out of 100): 83
• Homes sold above list price: 44.6%
• Median days on the market: 16
• Median sale price: $183,500

• Redfin competitive score (out of 100): 82
• Homes sold above list price: 38.8%
• Median days on the market: 17
• Median sale price: $900,000

• Redfin competitive score (out of 100): 81
• Homes sold above list price: 41.7%
• Median days on the market: 17
• Median sale price: $372,000

• Redfin competitive score (out of 100): 80
• Homes sold above list price: 46.9%
• Median days on the market: 20
• Median sale price: $440,000

Housing market data is sourced from Redfin and is accurate as of Jan. 4, 2024.