Overheated? DC-area fixer-upper gets 88 offers — 76 all-cash

For the latest evidence of a surging suburban sales market, look just outside Washington, D.C. There, a serious fixer-upper sold for 70 percent above its appraisal after receiving 88 offers — 76 all-cash, according to the New York Post.

A buyer closed on the four-bedroom home in Silver Spring, Maryland, for $460,000, well above the $275,000 court-mandated appraisal that followed the owner’s death, according to the report. With home prices peaking in the area, the offers poured in for the 1,850-square-foot, single-story home on Fleetwood Terrace. The Redfin estimate of nearly $413,000, however, was considerably above the appraisal.

Listing agent Ellen Coleman of RE/MAX Realty Centre said the listing photos didn’t include “the worst of it,” the Post reported. She added, “there was water in the basement, I’m sure lead paint, I’m sure asbestos. It needed someone with the wherewithal and cash to bring it back to life.”

Rajan Arora of Metropolitan Regional Information Systems brought the buyer, who was not named.

Despite its modesty, home has its charms. Those include a sunroom and the original 1948 wood floors. The property covers less than one-fifth of an acre. The previous owners purchased the home in 1977 for $64,000.

The median sales price in Silver Spring hit a five-year high in January. Homes typically list for $429,000 and close 15 percent above asking. The area is about 30 minutes outside the nation’s capital.

Suburban housing markets nationwide have exploded amid the pandemic. Inventory is so tight that there are now more agents working than homes for sale, according to a recent report.

[NYP] — Dennis Lynch