Redfin Ranks the Most Competitive Neighborhoods of 2019

White Oaks in the Bay Area is the most competitive neighborhood of the year for homebuyers, followed by Alger Heights in Grand Rapids, MI and East Arlington in Boston.

Just 12% percent of offers written by Redfin agents on behalf of their homebuying customers nationwide faced a bidding war from January through November 2019, down from 48% in 2018 and 53% in 2017. Although bidding wars have declined on a national level, in the Bay Area, home to half of the 20 most competitive neighborhoods of 2019, it can still be difficult for buyers to win homes. The Boston metro also stands out, with four of the top 20 most competitive neighborhoods, followed by Grand Rapids and Washington D.C., with two apiece. Suburbs of Minneapolis and Seattle (Brooklyn Park and Tacoma) each have one neighborhood on the list.

Housing market stats for the 20 most competitive neighborhoods in the U.S.

Neighborhood City Metro area Compete score Sale-to-list price ratio Median days on market Share of homes sold above list price
White Oaks San Carlos, CA San Jose 95.5 105.9% 12 72.2%
Alger Heights Grand Rapids, MI Grand Rapids 95.3 102.9% 7 66.9%
East Arlington Arlington, MA Boston 95.1 103.6% 9 67.4%
Glenview Oakland, CA San Jose 95.0 125.2% 14 84.7%
Brattle Station Arlington, MA Boston 94.7 103.8% 8 61.2%
Creston Grand Rapids, MI Grand Rapids 94.5 102.0% 6 59.3%
AU Park/Friendship Heights Washington, DC Washington, D.C. 94.2 103.6% 7 57.8%
Cambridgeport Cambridge, MA Boston 94.1 104.6% 9 62.6%
Upper Rockridge Oakland, CA San Jose 93.8 115.0% 15 77.8%
Mission Dolores San Francisco, CA San Jose 93.6 114.3% 15 82.3%
Bushrod Oakland, CA San Jose 93.6 119.4% 15 86.1%
Berkeley Hills Berkeley, CA San Jose 93.5 116.7% 16 84.4%
Bay Farm Island Alameda, CA San Jose 93.5 105.8% 16 75.1%
Arlington Center Arlington, MA Boston 93.5 103.2% 10 59.4%
Beresford Park San Mateo, CA San Jose 93.3 105.3% 13 74.8%
Piedmont Avenue Oakland, CA San Jose 93.3 110.3% 15 74.5%
Hartkopf Brooklyn Park, MN Minneapolis 93.2 102.6% 10 65.1%
Fairlington Arlington, VA Washington, D.C. 93.0 101.8% 7 59.1%
Northwest Landing DuPont, WA Seattle 92.8 101.7% 4 50.5%
North Los Altos Los Altos, CA San Jose 92.7 103.3% 12 60.1%

Bay Area must be in terminal decline. Too many people want to buy homes here.

While West Bay has 4 on the list: San Carlos, SF, San Mateo and Los Altos; East Bay has 6! Just Oakland by itself has 4 neighborhoods on the list. Together with Berkeley and Alameda that’s 6 for the greater Oakland area.

South Bay from Fremont to San Jose, Cupertino and Sunnyvale are relatively quiet.

Of the 10 Bay Area neighborhoods among the most competitive in the country, half are in Oakland. Although the median sale price in Oakland is more than double the national median—$720,000 versus $312,000 for the typical home in the U.S. in November—it’s still well below that of San Francisco ($1.4 million) and San Jose ($1.1 million).

Oakland Redfin agent Katy Polvorosa said the area has been particularly hot this year, partly because it’s more affordable than neighboring parts of the Bay Area. .

“I’ve heard a lot of people say the Bay Area housing market is cooling this year, but I’m seeing the opposite in Oakland,” Polvorosa said. “I’m writing offers that are seeing aggressive competition. Homes that are move-in ready and priced right typically receive offers within 12 to 14 days. The Oakland market is so hot that sellers are still expecting and receiving offers that waive contingencies.”