"insane" bidding wars hammer america's hottest markets

Bidding wars, absent from most parts of the U.S. residential market since its peak in 2006, are erupting from Seattle and Silicon Valley to Miami and Washington, D.C. The number of contracts to buy previously owned homes jumped 14 percent in February from a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Since January, agents have encountered multiple bids on about half of offers in Seattle, Boston, Washington D.C and Oregon, while in San Francisco, three of four offers involved competition, said Tim Ellis, real estate analyst for the online brokerage Redfin.

Ken DeLeon, the real estate broker in Silicon Valley who made 101 home sales last year valued at $275 million, told OPP: "It's insane. It's probably the hottest housing market in the nation." Housing scarcity in some metropolitan areas and an improvement in the US job market are factors contributing to the fierce competition.

Source: OPP.org.uk