If you've ever looked at houses on Redfin, you've probably noticed a feature called Redfin Hot Homes. If you've gone back to look at a house with that designation a few days later, it probably wasn't on the market any longer.
A "Hot Home" is determined using an algorithm Redfin developed to identify homes likely to sell within two weeks and while not ironclad, it's a good indicator to consider.
Redfin decided to take a closer look at where the most Hot Homes were popping up around the U.S. and wouldn't you know it Seattle is among the markets at the top of the list.
That percentage is based on homes listed in April and in that month along a typical Seattle home found a buyer eight days after it went to market. And if the local market is too much for you, don't consider Denver or Portland as better options.
How much have Denver, Portland and Seattle heated up? In April 2012, a typical home in Denver found a buyer in 36 days and in Portland it was 65 days and in Seattle it was 50. Last year, homes in those markets found buyers in 14, 18 and 10 days, respectively. This year, homes are finding buyers seemingly the day they are open for tours.
Redfin also notes that Seattle's average sale-to-list price ratio is 102.9 percent, second only to San Francisco. Also second only to San Fran is the percentage of homes sold above asking price: 56.3 percent. They also note that 78 percent of Seattle home offers submitted through Redfin face a bidding war, which is the highest percentage in the nation.
· Denver, Seattle and Portland are the Hottest Housing Markets of 2016 [Redfin]