In Lucky Housing Markets, Bidding Wars Are Back

Matthew and Carina Hensley offered $10,000 more than the asking price for a three-bedroom house in suburban Seattle, then lost out to one of seven other bidders. Their $270,000 proposal in February came with a family portrait and a letter introducing the couple, their eight-month-old daughter, Harper, and their desire to build a family in the Renton (Wash.) house with a yard backing onto a woody hillside.

“We understand there is going to be fierce competition in the offers made for your house but Carina and I both felt very strongly about letting you know what it would mean to us if we were given the opportunity to live in your gorgeous and charming house,” wrote Matthew, 33, a credit union branch manager whose wife is a dental hygienist, to the sellers. Such letters from eager buyers were common during the housing boom.