Boston condos for sale: The end of bidding wars?
Boston Condos for Sale and Apartments for Rent
Boston condos for sale: The end of bidding wars?
If you’re still worried about having to deal with a bidding war when you buy a home, you may be able to let some of that fear go.
While multiple-offer situations haven’t disappeared entirely, they’re not nearly as common as they used to be. In fact, a recent survey shows agents reported only 1 in 5 homes (20%) nationally received multiple offers in June 2025.
That’s down from nearly 1 in 3 (31%) just a year ago – and dramatically lower than in June 2023 (39%) (see graph below):
This trend means you should face less competition when you buy. That gives you more time to make decisions and the ability to negotiate price or terms.
It Still Depends on Where You’re Buying
Of course, national trends don’t tell the full story. Local dynamics matter, a lot. This second graph uses survey data from John Burns Research & Consulting (JBREC) and Keeping Current Matters (KCM) to break things down by region to prove just how true that is. It shows, while the share of homes getting multiple offers has dropped pretty much everywhere, some areas are still seeing more offers than others:
In the Northeast, 34% of homes (roughly 1 in 3) are still receiving multiple offers. That’s more than the national average. But in Southeast, that number drops to just 6%.
What’s behind the difference? In general, the areas still seeing bidding wars tend to have lower-than-normal inventory. That imbalance between buyers and available homes keeps pressure on prices and competition. But markets with more listings are seeing conditions cool – and that means fewer bidding wars.
Sellers Are More Flexible Than You Might Think
Here’s another shift to show you just how much things have changed. According to a Redfin report, almost half of sellers are offering concessions, like covering their buyer’s closing costs or dropping their asking price to get their house sold.
That’s a clear sign this isn’t the same ultra-competitive market we saw a few years ago. Back then, sellers rarely compromised. And buyers often waived their inspection or appraisal to try to make their offer stand out. Now, things are different.
But again, how often this is happening is going to vary based on where you’re looking to buy. And that’s why you need a local agent’s expertise.
Boston condos for Sale the Bottom Line
If concerns about bidding wars have been holding you back, it may be time to take another look. Nationally, competition is down. In some markets, it’s down significantly. And with more sellers offering concessions, buyers today have more power and flexibility than they’ve had in a long time.
Happy Fall and Patriot Football Season!
Peace be with you
Ford Realty Beacon Hill – Condo for Sale Office
All Beacon Hill apartments ranked Newest to Oldest Listings for Winter 2025
This content is currently unavailable. Please check back later or contact the site's support team for more information.
Updated: Boston Real Estate Blog 2025
Ford Realty Inc., Boston, MA – Boston Real Estate Google Reviews 2000 – 2025
Boston condos for sale: The end of bidding wars?
Prospective Boston condo for sale buyers gearing up to beat out the competition can start to breathe easier.
The level of competition on home offers written by Redfin agents dropped below 50 percent for the first time in more than two years, according to a report. The bidding war rate stood at 49.9 percent in June, the lowest Redfin has recorded since a 46.3 percent rate in May 2020.
The share of offers to receive at least one rival offer soared during the pandemic, as buyers competed for an increasingly moribund amount of available homes. Pandemic-era competition peaked in January, when the bidding war rate neared 70 percent.
Competition has plunged in recent months, however, as a concerning economic outlook and rising mortgage rates have led some to abandon their home search altogether, leaving more Boston condo for sale buyers free from bidding wars.
June’s nationwide bidding war rate was down from 57.3 percent in May and 65 percent in June 2021. It marked the fifth straight month of a rate decline.
Sign of a slowing housing market
The dropping bidding war rate is the latest sign of a slowing housing market. Redfin reported about 60,000 home purchase agreements were canceled last month, equivalent to roughly 14.9 percent of homes that went under contract in June. That’s the highest percentage of canceled contracts in the five-year history of Redfin’s metric, excluding the pandemic’s first two months. Of the 36 metros analyzed by Redfin — which required a monthly average of at least 50 offers from March 2021 to March 2022 — competition was highest in Providence, Rhode Island, which had a bidding war rate of 77.6 percent. It was one of two metros to see a rise in competition year over year, albeit a marginal one; the other market was Colorado Springs.
The biggest year-over-year drop in competition
The biggest year-over-year drop in competition came in Riverside, California, which saw its bidding war rate decline by 38.6 percentage points. The other biggest decreases came in Raleigh, Charlotte, Seattle and Honolulu.
Top five lowest bidding war rates
Three of those metros also ranked in the top five lowest bidding war rates in June. The leader was Tampa, Florida, where the bidding war rate was 28.9 percent — down from 54.2 percent the month prior and 58.8 percent in June 2021.
Updated: Boston Real Estate Blog 2025
