Metros with the biggest jump between list and sale prices

On Feb 18, 2022

It’s no secret that the housing market has been in the midst of an upheaval over the past couple of years. Sellers had to be open to working with buyers on the sale prices of their homes just a few years ago or face long waits for the sale of those homes. But the pandemic has had a massive impact on the housing markets in small towns, large cities, and everything in between.

With interest in homeownership high, many current and potential residents have seen the soaring cost of homes become even more competitive—or even out of reach—in rural markets and mid-sized Midwestern cities alike. Affordability has always been a challenge in large cities for low- to moderate-income buyers, and many metropolitan areas continue to see prices and cost of living rise to new highs.

Across the nation, homes now sell for well over the asking price—and in many cases, it’s due to housing shortages. Most markets simply don’t have enough housing inventory to meet the demand. Other factors, like widespread supply chain issues that are driving up the price of construction materials, are only adding to the issue.

What metros are seeing the biggest jumps between list and sales prices? Why are these issues occurring in these areas? Better Mortgage, an online lender and homeownership platform with a free mortgage calculator, analyzed housing data from the Redfin Data Center to rank every metro based on the highest average ratio between the list price and the sale price of each home sold in the metro, or the average sale-to-list ratio. If this ratio is above 100%, the homes in the metro sold for more than their list price. If it’s less than 100%, the homes sold for less than their list price.

The top 20 metros with the highest average sale-to-list ratios were selected for the list, with the number of homes sold in the metro being the tiebreaker. The data also looked at how many homes were sold above the asking price and the median sale price of homes when available. Data from November 2021, the most recent available, is covered.

Average sale-to-list ratio: 102.6%
Homes sold in November 2021: 5
— Homes sold above asking price: 40%
— Median sale price: data not available

Housing inventory has been limited in the tiny town of Maysville, Kentucky, over the past couple of years. As mortgage interest rates declined to record lows at the start of the pandemic, interest in property purchases skyrocketed in markets across the nation. This led to homes being snatched up quickly in towns like Maysville, where typically there are fewer than a handful of homes listed for sale. New construction is low, so buyers in Maysville often need to compete for higher and higher offers for existing homes, which has caused the sales prices to jump well above the list prices.

Average sale-to-list ratio: 102.7%
Homes sold in November 2021: 4
— Homes sold above asking price: 50%
— Median sale price: $109,000

The population in Hope, Arkansas, has declined significantly over the past decade, but the housing prices have followed a different trend. While the town of Hope may not be attracting a ton of new residents, it is attracting homebuyers who are willing to pay much higher than the asking price—and it’s due to a significant lack of for-sale inventory coupled with low interest rates. Historically, the home prices in this town have also been very low compared to the national average, so there was more room for above-asking offers from buyers who were eager to snag a home purchase during the pandemic buying frenzy.

Average sale-to-list ratio: 102.7%
Homes sold in November 2021: 805
— Homes sold above asking price: 55.4%
— Median sale price: $400,000

During the pandemic, the state of Maine gained more new residents than nearly any other state—and this growth affected the Portland-South Portland metro area in particular. As the fastest-growing city in the state, the influx of new residents to Portland, Maine, put a strain on the housing market. Buyer demand quickly outpaced the available inventory, and buyers who wanted to land contracts on properties were forced to offer over-asking to compete. This caused the property sales prices to surge well above the list prices in Portland—which was a favorable scenario for sellers, but was not as ideal for potential buyers with limited cash reserves.

Average sale-to-list ratio: 102.8%
Homes sold in November 2021: 16
— Homes sold above asking price: 43.8%
— Median sale price: $176,000

The small town of Summerville, Georgia, has seen dwindling population numbers in recent decades, but its proximity to Chattanooga, Tennessee turned it into a hot spot for real estate. In 2020, as home prices skyrocketed in Chattanooga—located 40 miles away—buyers turned to more affordable areas like Summerville to purchase real estate instead. But with just under 4,500 residents, the small town of Summerville didn’t have a ton of available home inventory to offer buyers—new construction or otherwise. This inventory shortage led buyers to offer much higher purchase prices than asking for the homes that were available—which drove up the sales prices to new heights.

Average sale-to-list ratio: 102.8%
Homes sold in November 2021: 24
— Homes sold above asking price: 58.3%
— Median sale price: $171,000

During the pandemic, the small city of Chillicothe, Ohio, saw a surge in out-of-state buyers looking for affordable properties and outdoor amenities. The uptick in non-local buyers, coupled with record-low interest rates, helped to put a strain on the housing market in Chillicothe in 2021. Housing was also extremely pricey and limited in central Ohio cities like Columbus during this time, which led buyers to turn to cities like Chillicothe for more affordable options. In turn, the available housing inventory was depleted, which meant that buyers who wanted to increase the chances of snagging a home had to make higher offers to compete.

Average sale-to-list ratio: 102.8%
Homes sold in November 2021: 146
— Homes sold above asking price: 70.5%
— Median sale price: $244,000

During the pandemic, Lewiston saw an uptick in interest from local and out-of-state buyers as more people relocated to Maine. Lewiston, the second-largest city in the state after Portland, saw its home inventory shrink as demand soared. Like many other towns and cities on this list, the limited supply forced buyers to compete with larger and larger offers for the homes that were available, which caused the drastic difference between list and sales price in this city.

Average sale-to-list ratio: 102.9%
Homes sold in November 2021: 78
— Homes sold above asking price: 46.2%
— Median sale price: $303,000

Vermont had been dealing with a housing shortage and skyrocketing property prices well before the pandemic. However, the recent pandemic-fueled buying frenzy—coupled with an unexpected population boom—is what tipped the skyrocketing home sales prices into overdrive in the city of Barre, Vermont. Located in the Barre-Montpelier metro, Barre became a hot spot for new residents, which added more pressure to the strained housing market. With limited housing inventory in the area, buyers had to make big offers to sellers to secure contracts on housing, which caused a massive jump between the list and sales prices in this area.

Average sale-to-list ratio: 102.9%
Homes sold in November 2021: 931
— Homes sold above asking price: 55.2%
— Median sale price: $390,000

Durham has grown massively over the past decade—and the pandemic only helped push more residents toward this North Carolina city. But as new residents flocked to Durham in 2021, the housing inventory in the area became strained—despite the attempts to meet the needs. With demand outweighing supply, bidding wars among buyers became common in neighborhoods across the city. This drove up the home purchase prices in Durham well above the list prices—and priced out many would-be buyers in this city.

Average sale-to-list ratio: 103.2%
Homes sold in November 2021: 2,394
— Homes sold above asking price: 59.2%
— Median sale price: $396,000

The city of Raleigh, which is located in the Raleigh-Durham metro area of North Carolina, has faced similar issues to its counterpart. High rates of new residents flocked to this area in 2021, which put a strain on the already stressed housing market. A shortage of housing occurred, even as new housing inventory was being added to the mix. With the demand for housing outweighing supply, buyers in Raleigh were forced to shell out top dollar for offers well over asking price. This caused the discrepancy between the list price and the sales price in this area, and priced out even more residents in the Raleigh-Durham area.

Average sale-to-list ratio: 103.5%
Homes sold in November 2021: 92
— Homes sold above asking price:…