Four hundred eighty-eight Seattle homes sold for at least $100,000 over the asking price in the first six weeks of the year, according to a new Redfin report.

That 488 figure is more than double the 232 homes that sold at that level during the same period in 2021 and accounts for 17.1% of home sales in Seattle from Jan. 1 through Feb. 15.

Seattle had the fourth-most transactions of $100,000 or more above asking price in the country, behind only Los Angeles, Oakland and San Jose.

Nationally, 5,897 homes sold for at least $100,000 over the asking price from Jan. 1 through Feb. 15, up from 2,241 during the same time last year, Redfin reported. January ended up being the most competitive month on record, and with housing inventory still at record lows, it could remain that way for some time. 

Homebuyer competition continues to intensify, as many pay well above the list price to beat out other bidders. That competition drove median home-sale prices up 14% year-over-year to $376,000, just shy of an all-time high, according to the report. 

Redfin deputy chief economist Taylor Marr said the housing market was in a frenzy at the start of the new year as buyers competed for a limited supply of homes, and sellers reaped the benefits.

“Buyers are likely to face strong competition at least through the next few months as demand is buoyed by the temporary drop in mortgage rates fueled by the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” Marr said in a press release. “But bidding wars may ease a bit by summer as more new listings come on the market and mortgage rates resume their rise. Homes are still likely to sell above list price, but the premiums will probably be lower.”

Some of that competition was due to buyers seeking to take advantage of December’s 3.1% mortgage rates before they started to rise, Redfin said. In comparison, for the week ended March 3, the average 30-year mortgage rate was 3.76%, down from February’s peak, but much higher than last year’s record lows.