Bidding Wars Galore in These 10 Cities

The current high demand for housing is spread out across the entire U.S., and bidding wars are becoming more common in more markets.

Akron, Ohio was recently found to have the biggest gain in Realtor.com's bidding war ranking, comparing 2015 to 2016 to March 2017 through February 2018. The percentage of homes selling over list price increased 91.7 percent to the current share, 20.6 percent. According to Realtor.com's research, Akron's market strength stems from competing first-time homebuyers and Baby Boomers. Nearby suburb Castle Park offers homes sized at about 1,200 to 2,000 square feet.

"Multiple-offer scenarios are no longer reserved to the usual big, fast-moving markets,” says Javier Vivas, director of economic research for realtor.com. “Demand for homes has spilled outward into secondary, smaller markets, and more buyers are gearing up to face fierce competition in more places around the country." Realtor.com looked at the percentage of homes sold above asking in the 150 largest cities. We examined list and sales data for March 2015 to February 2016, and then compared them to March 2017 to February 2018.

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