Home sales are up 28% year over year in Portland, OR—the biggest gain of any major U.S. metro. Next come San Jose, Seattle and San Francisco, which also saw double-digit increases.
In Portland, OR, home sales jumped 27.6% year over year in November—the biggest increase among the 50 most populous U.S. metropolitan areas. It was followed by five other pricey West Coast metros: San Jose, CA (26.2%), Seattle (19.5%), San Francisco (17.7%), Sacramento, CA (17.6%) and San Diego (15.2%). By comparison, nationwide home sales rose just 4.8%.
All of the aforementioned markets have median sale prices above the national median of $430,107.
Early-stage homebuying activity has been picking up across the country since the election. But some West Coast markets may be gaining steam especially quickly in part because a shortage of homes for sale is keeping competition afloat.
New listings in Portland, for example, were down 20.3% from a year earlier in November—a bigger decline than any other metro but Austin, TX. By comparison, nationwide new listings were down just 6.6%. New listings in Oakland, San Jose and Sacramento also fell more than they did nationwide.
“There’s low inventory, so if a house checks all the boxes, it’s selling very quickly with multiple offers,” said Bay Area Redfin Premier real estate agent Josh Felder. “Even homes in the $1 million to $3 million range are getting five to seven offers if they are move-in ready and in the right neighborhood with the right schools—and they can sell for anywhere between 10% and 14% over the asking price. There is a lot of money in Silicon Valley. You’d think there would be a finite supply of people who have $3.5-$5 million dollars for a home, but apparently not. They just keep coming.”
Over Half of Homes in the Bay Area Are Selling for More Than Their Asking Price
The Bay Area—the most expensive housing market in the country—is also home to three of the five U.S. metropolitan areas where houses are most likely to sell for more than their asking price.
In San Jose, 58.6% of homes that sold in November went for above their list price—the highest among the 50 most populous U.S. metros in Redfin’s analysis aside from Newark, NJ (64.8%). In third place is Nassau County, NY (54.1%), followed by two other Bay Area metros: Oakland (53.6%) and San Francisco (52.9%). In both San Jose and San Francisco, the share of homes selling above their list price was at the highest level for November since 2021, and in Newark and Nassau County, it was at the highest level for any November on record. Nationwide, just over one-quarter (26.6%) of homes that sold during November went for more than their list price.
San Jose and San Francisco are the most expensive housing markets in the country, both with median sale prices of $1.5 million.
