With the 100th running of the Indy 500 coming up over Memorial Day weekend, speed and history are the names of the game. Will upstart Simon Pagenaud win it this year? Or will Juan Pablo Montoya take the crown? Either way, is Penske now the best team?
With the races approaching, we couldn’t help but think about another speed event: home sales. This spring has been red hot and many buyers are finding that they need to jump on homes quickly to close the deal. Last month, the typical home spent 47 days on the market. That’s nine days fewer than last year. And competition for those homes was strong, with 22.5 percent selling for more than what homeowners asked.
But what about cities where IndyCar races are held? We looked at the median number of days homes spent on the market in those cities in April to rank the fastest IndyCar housing markets below.
San Francisco—the nearest large metropolitan area to the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma—had the fastest market, with a typical home spending just 19 days on the market and one in three homes selling in two weeks or less. San Francisco buyers are actually enjoying a little more breathing room this year than last, when half of homes went under contract within 14 days. Redfin agents report that homes that would have gone off the market in a handful of days last year are now staying on the market for two to three weeks before finding a buyer.
In Boston—the home of the ill-fated Grand Prix of Boston—the housing market is speeding up this year. Redfin agent Eileen Lorway says sellers who waited until this year to list their homes are benefiting from the increased intensity of the market.
“After initially listing a year ago, one of my clients ended up taking their home off the market in order to make upgrades before selling,” Lorway said. “We put it back on the market this year and within six days received 11 offers, one of which was $47,000 over the asking price. Changing their plan and waiting to sell was a blessing in disguise.”
Lorway said it’s not uncommon for her clients’ homes to sell in less than a week.
Indianapolis, the host of the Indy 500, finished in the middle of the pack. Homes in Indy sold eight days faster than at this time last year, with 19 percent fewer homes for sale, leading to an inventory crunch.
“Many buyers are discouraged by the limited selection of homes for sale and are willing to wait for something better to come up later this spring,” said Redfin agent Jake Johnson. “Those who need to move now, however, are contributing to the market acceleration by relying on technology like Redfin Instant Updates and offering on well-priced homes within hours of their market debut.”
Unlike an IndyCar race, an ideal housing market drives in the middle of the pack—not too fast and not too slow. Housing markets often accelerate to speeds like those we’re seeing in San Francisco when demand far exceeds supply. High speeds are often accompanied by escalating prices and risky competitive strategies like waived inspection contingencies. There’s only one winner in a bidding war, so many homebuyers are essentially excluded from the market, and some would-be sellers don’t list their homes for fear of not being able to find or win another in time. When homes sit on the market for too long, the overall supply of houses becomes stagnant and homeowners can’t get the necessary capital to move up to a new home. In a moderately paced housing market, home sellers have a better chance of getting fair market price for their homes, and buyers aren’t as likely to overpay in rapid-fire deals.
Note: The ranking does not include the IndyCar Grand Prix at the Glen, Iowa Corn 300 or Honda Indy Toronto because they take place outside of Redfin’s service area.
