Competition in the Market
Bidding wars have led half of recently sold homes to sell above list.
Stiff competition is driving up the sales prices of homes. There are many complex factors leading to the market we are in, but the result, as reported in this article by NAR, is that half of recently sold homes have gone for above list price.
Multiple Offers
Receiving multiple offers for a listing has become the market norm, but the average number of offers received per listing appears to be increasing, according to agents interviewed for the NAR article. One agent from Dallas, cited in the article, reports having received as many as 97 offers on a single listing.
NAR goes on to cite the NAHB to say that 45% of long-term lookers (3+ months) report that the reason they have not yet purchased a home is that they continue to lose bidding wars.
Geography
The reality of this situation varies widely when looked at in geographic terms. According to NAR, some areas are seeing bidding wars on more than 80% of homes, while others are seeing significantly less.
As the supply of new and existing housing stock slowly increases, competition should ease, but where and when these effects will begin to be felt is still uncertain.