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- A Washington, DC-area home recently sold for $1 million over asking price.
- Two Bay Area homes have achieved the same feat in 2021.
- The sales are symptomatic of a frenzied market driven by surging demand and low interest rates.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
A Washington, DC-area home has sold for $1 million over asking price, making it at least the third house to achieve that feat amid a crazed US housing market.
The Washington Post's Kathy Orton reports that the five-bedroom, five-bathroom home, which spans 5,000 square feet, was listed for $3,495,000 on April 16. The house, located in the wealthy enclave of Chevy Chase Village in Maryland, received seven offers in three days and sold for $4,540,000 – over $1 million over asking.
The deal mirrors similar sales on the other side of the country. According to SF Gate's Andrew Chamings, a seven-bedroom home in Mountain View, California, also recently sold for $1 million over asking. The 4,365-square-foot home, located just a few miles from Google's headquarters, was listed at $4.5 million; it sold six days later for $5.5 million.
And earlier this year, a Berkeley, California, house almost doubled its price: The home was listed at $1.3 million, received 29 offers in just over 10 days, then sold for $2.3 million, according to SF Gate.
'10 to 15 buyers for every seller'
These sales are representative of a feverish real estate market nationwide. Low interest rates during the pandemic combined with a desire for more space and the ability to work remotely has led to bidding wars, surging prices, and low inventory in many markets across the country.
Further south in California, near Sacramento, a $400,000 house recently received 122 offers in two days, later selling for above asking price.
Realtors who spoke with Insider described working nonstop to keep up with demand. One realtor said she had to schedule time with her family; another said she often works seven days a week.
Glen Clemmons, a broker and realtor for Costello Real Estate and Investments in North Carolina, told Insider that both he and his buyers feel "beat up."
"I had one client who wrote 15 offers before they finally got one, and that's exhausting," he said.
Sean Waeiss, a broker and the owner of Wise Property Group in Austin, told Insider that there's been a "rocket ship" of demand in the first several months of 2021.
"We have 10 to 15 buyers for every seller that we have and ... when we're submitting offers, they're getting 10, 12, 15, 18 offers on the house," he said. "That's kind of how we've moved since April of last year. And it doesn't seem to be slowing down."
The skyrocketing prices and low inventory mean that many lower-income buyers are getting boxed out of the market, but wealthy homebuyers are purchasing properties at a rapid clip. According to a report from Redfin, high-end home purchases climbed 26% versus a year ago during the three months ending April 30 - during the same period, sales of mid-priced homes and affordable homes increased about 15% and 18%, respectively.
That luxury home boom comes as a high rate of pricey homes hit the market right now, meaning there are more options for well-off homebuyers, according to Redfin. The combination of a strong stock market, ballooning savings, and remote work has allowed the rich to snap up homes - even if they need to pay $1 million over asking.