THE BIG FINISH
WRAP YOUR HEAD AROUND THE MARKET'S LEADING INDICATORS
96
COMPETITIVE EDGE
The housing market has shown signs of cooling across the U.S. in 2019. However, some cities have remained competitive with
buyers trying to outbid each other for properties. LendingTree recently ranked the top markets in the U.S. based on an average of the
metro's rank in three categories that contributed to the competitiveness of homebuyers—share of buyers shopping for a mortgage
before identifying the house they wanted, average down payment percentage, and percentage of buyers who had a good or excellent
credit score.
The average down payment percent in the top 10 of the 20 most competitive markets in the study was 16 percent—two points higher
than that across all metros in the study. Additionally, 63 percent of buyers in these markets shopped around for a mortgage before
settling on a house.
Rank Metro
Percent of buyers who
shopped for a mortgage
before settling on a house
Percent of buyers with
prime credit
Average down payment
percent
1 DENVER 67% 56% 16%
2 LOS ANGELES 64% 55% 17%
3 PORTLAND 65% 57% 15%
4 SAN FRANCISCO 62% 59% 17%
5 SAN JOSE 61% 65% 19%
6 ST. LOUIS 65% 54% 15%
7 LAS VEGAS 66% 52% 14%
8 SEATTLE 59% 65% 19%
9 SACRAMENTO 65% 50% 15%
10 BOSTON 60% 57% 16%
11 MINNEAPOLIS 63% 58% 14%
12 PHOENIX 64% 48% 15%
13 MILWAUKEE 63% 52% 14%
14 SAN ANTONIO 63% 55% 14%
15 NEW YORK 55% 58% 17%
16 AUSTIN 59% 54% 16%
17 MIAMI 60% 49% 16%
18 NASHVILLE 62% 50% 14%
19 WASHINGTON 59% 58% 14%
20 RALEIGH 59% 53% 14%
Source: "LendingTree Ranks Most Competitive Housing Markets"
