Favorable home prices and record-low interest rates combined with high demand and a severe shortage of available housing have created a highly competitive housing market in California, with nearly six in ten home sales receiving multiple offers, according to the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®’ (C.A.R.) “2012 Annual Housing Market Survey.”
Multiple Offers and Aggressive Bidding Create Competitive Housing Market
Fifty-seven percent of home sales received multiple offers in 2012, the highest in at least the past 12 years, with each home receiving an average of 4.2 offers, up from 3.5 offers in 2011. Lower priced homes – typically real estate-owned (REO) or short sales – attracted more multiple offers than equity sales. Seven of 10 REO home sales and short sales received multiple offers, while only half of equity sales received more than one offer.
“Well-qualified buyers are recognizing the once-in-a-generation opportunity to purchase a home in California and are jumping into the market,” said C.A.R. President LeFrancis Arnold. “However, the fierce market conditions have forced many buyers to compete with all-cash offers and investors, setting off multiple offers and bidding wars, making it even more difficult for first-time buyers to become homeowners.”
C.A.R. has conducted its “Annual Housing Market Survey” since 1981. The survey was mailed to a random sample of 15,000 REALTORS® throughout California, representing a geographical distribution of C.A.R. membership across the state. The survey asked REALTORS® to provide information from their most recent home sales transaction that closed escrow in the second quarter of 2012.