Multiple Offers Increased as the Market Became More Competitive
By: Oscar Wei, Senior Research Analyst
While the California housing market continued to show strong sales growth since the beginning of 2012, the lack of inventory remained an issue throughout the year. With an imbalance between supply and demand, home buyers have been fiercely competing with each other. The market competitiveness is evident in the increase in the number of sales with multiple offers, as reported in C.A.R.’s latest 2012 Annual Housing Market Survey. Nearly six of ten home sales (57 percent) received multiple offers, and the percent of sales with multiple offers was the highest in the last 12 years. On average, each home sale received 4.2 offers, a slight increase from 3.5 offers in 2011.
With bank-owned properties being the best bargain in the market, the competition was most intense in the REO segment. More than seven of ten REO sales (71 percent) received multiple offers, an increase from 58 percent in 2011. The short sale market was not as competitive as the REO market, but nevertheless, nearly two-thirds of sales received more than one offer, a jump from 58 percent in 2011.