</p

Multiple snowstorms in Boston at least partiallyrnaccounted for a drop of 19.7 percent in offers facing competitive bids andrnBaltimore also had a sizeable decrease, 13.5 percent. In San Jose competitivernbids rose by 7.9 percent and both Chicago and Washington, DC had 3.7 percentrnincreases. </p

Bidding wars often result in homesrnselling above the asking price and in San Jose 60 percent of homes sold abovernlist with home-sellers averaging a bonus of 2.5 percent.  San Francisco came in second with 48.9rnpercent of sales exceeding the asking price.</p

In addition to strong dollar bidsrnsellers continued to sweeten their offers with other competitivernstrategies.  The most common enhancementrnwas the cover letter which accompanied 36.1 percent of Redfin’s clients’rnwinning bids (up from 35.9 percent in November.) Other strategies were all cashrnoffers (7.8 percent), waiver of a mortgage contingency (9.3 percent), andrnwaiver of the inspection contingency (8.4 percent).  It probably speaks to the level ofrncompetition in California’s Bay area that 30 percent of the winning offers inrnSan Jose and 20 percent in San Francisco waived financing contingencies and 50rnpercent of San Jose offers waived inspections. rnCover letters were included in at least 50 percent of the winning offersrnin both locations.</p

Redfin says that it expects competitionrnto follow historical trends and rebound sharply in January “For the past threernyears, competition has surged during the first month of the year, rising 8rnpercentage points in 2013, 6.9 points in 2012, and 8.3 points in 2011,” therncompany said.  The rebound, however, isrnlikely to be muted by continued snowy weather in the Midwest and on the eastrncoast which could lead many buyers to hold off on their shopping until thernweather clears.  

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