Rochester leads nation in fast home sales, frequently above asking price

If you want to buy a home in the Rochester area, you’ll need to act quickly and be prepared to pay more.

A lot of people in the market already know that, but a data analysis for the month of January by Redfin.com offers proof: Homes here are selling faster and more often for above list price than anywhere else in the country.

The Redfin study released Feb. 16 states that 70.5% of homes in the Rochester metropolitan area went under contract within two weeks of being listed, making it No. 1 in the category.

In second place was Seattle (65.7%), and San Jose, California was third (62%).

The lowest percentages were in Chicago (14.7%), Knoxville, Tennessee (16.9%), and Tucson, Arizona (17.4%).

The Rochester market also was No. 1 in above list-price sales, coming in at 66.2%.

Next came Newark, New Jersey (59.7%) and Buffalo (58.1%).

The lowest number of above list-price sales were in three Florida communities: West Palm Beach (6.8%), North Port (6.8%) and Cape Coral (7.7%).

Nationwide, new listings, active listings and pending home sales all have fallen since last year, according to Redfin.

The reason, it says, is stagnant mortgage rates, which started and ended at 6.6% in January.

Reporter Marcia Greenwood covers general assignments. Send story tips to mgreenwo@rocheste.gannett.com . Follow her on Twitter @MarciaGreenwood .

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Rochester leads nation in fast home sales, frequently above asking price