3 Cities With the Most Competitive Housing Markets
Written by
Heather Altamirano
Edited by
Daria Uhlig
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The housing market has experienced many unexpected twists and turns since the pandemic. As offices shut down, droves of remote employees looking for bigger, cheaper space left the city and headed to more cost-effective areas. At the same time, mortgage rates fell as a result of federal rate cuts meant to encourage borrowing.
Demand for homes skyrocketed. But low inventory caused prices to surge as buyers offered above-asking prices and waived contingencies to gain an edge over competing buyers.
The Fed later increased federal interest rates to slow the economy and bring down inflation. Those increases pushed up mortgage rates, and the housing market cooled somewhat. But as a recent report from Redfin shows, there’s still a lot of competition.
Here are the top three competitive housing markets.
San Jose, California
Located roughly 50 miles outside of San Francisco, San Jose is a vibrant city known as the Capital of Silicon Valley for its close proximity to tech hub giants Apple, Google and Meta, which create an abundance of employment opportunities. In addition to the booming job market, San Jose offers natural beauty, outdoorsy adventures and great weather — but it’s the top competitive market.
The average San Jose home receives four offers, often with no contingencies, and sells in about 15 days for about 5% above asking price.
- Median sale price: $1.4 million, up 4.0% since last year.
- Median sale price per square foot: $875, up 2.4% since last year
Anchorage
Anchorage is an ideal place to live for outdoor enthusiasts who don’t mind short summers and cold temperatures. From fishing to hiking, camping and biking, there are endless activities for nature lovers. While the cost of living is higher due to food and supplies being imported, there is no sales or income tax. However, it is the second most competitive market.
The average home in Anchorage receives one offer, often with waived contingencies, and goes under contract in about eight days. Homes are selling for about 1% above asking price.
- Median sale price: $418,000, up 5.2% since last year
- Median sale price per square foot: $241, up 2.6% since last year
Richmond
The University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University attract young professionals, but Richmond isn’t just a college town. It’s also appealing to families and retirees because of its affordable living. Country Living ranked the city the 17th best place in the U.S. to spend your golden years due to excellent hospitals and a thriving art scene, but it’s still a competitive housing market.
Homes in Richmond receive three offers, on average. They sell in around 12 days for about 3% above asking price.
- Median sale price: $375,000, down 5.1% since last year
- Median sale price per square foot: $243, up 1.3% since last year
Good News for Home Buyers
Competition is easing as the demand for homes and the number of available homes find more balance.
“In July 2024, there were 1,806,943 homes for sale in the United States, up 17.5% year over year,” according to the Redfin report. Over 567,000 of those were newly listed — an increase of 4% from July 2023.
The report also revealed that the median days on market increased from 29 days to 34 days. The average months of supply — the average number of months it would take to sell all the homes currently on the market — was unchanged at three months.
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