Home Bidding Wars May be Easing

San Diego County remains one of the most competitive housing markets in the nation, but local bidding matches appear to be easing, shows an analysis from online real estate brokerage Redfin. Competition softened in July due to an increase in listings and mortgage rates.

More than 70 percent of deals reviewed by Redfin in July faced multiple bids, a drop from 82 percent in June and a drop from 73 percent a year ago, based on the brokerage's data. The national rate is 63 percent.

San Diego and Orange counties faced the steepest decreases in competition month-to-month. Still, the two regions rank as the No. 4 and No. 3 most competitive markets in the nation. San Francisco and Los Angeles topped the list.

Local home sales shot up to a 7-year high in July as 13 percent more listings became available, allowing potential buyers more choice in a supply-constrained market. Also, recent home-price and mortgage-rate spikes have discouraged some buyers who may have dropped out of the market. That paved the way for more persistent consumers to ink deals.

Recent trends suggest "the strong sellers' market beginning to shift toward more balance, giving frustrated home-buyers a bit of relief," Redfin's report says.

A drop in competition has also meant an increasing number of winning bids are closer to, or in some cases lower than, sellers' asking prices.

In recent months, some agents have noticed sellers who apparently overpriced their homes having to come down in price because they weren't getting any bites.

Redfin's report predicts bidding wars may continue to wane through the fall.