For anyone looking to buy a house, you likely know just how tough the housing market is right now.
In fact, some experts are even advising people to wait until the housing market improves before looking to buy property. According to The Atlantic, all of the houses listed nationwide back in April went pending in less than a week. In fact, people are willing to bid exuberant amounts of money for houses that they’ve never even seen in public.
The prices for homes are at a record-breaking number, too. This means that not only is it nearly impossible to get a house, it’s also going to cost you a fortune. Most houses are selling above the asking price and the time spent on the market is also a record low. People are getting desperate and will take just about anything that opens up in their area.
Scorched Boston House On the Market
According to ABC News, a completely burned down house in Melrose is currently on the market for $399,000. It will sell “as is” too. This means the buyer is getting the house with absolutely no modifications, char and all.
The house is a 3-bedroom, 1.5-bathroom house — or what’s left of one. The house is listed by Coldwell Banker Realty and it warns buyers that it needs a “complete renovation or potential tear down and rebuild.”
Luckily, there’s plenty of pictures for people to get an idea of what they’re buying, especially if they look to buy virtually. The house has boarded-up windows and a lot of fire damage. The back and side of the house seem to be relatively unscathed by the fire, however.
Realistically, the person who decides to buy this house is likely not at all interested in the charred house itself. Rather, it’s all about the land and the property. The house sits on a 0.1-acre space that can be turned into a pretty epic house in a sought-after area. Melrose is a desirable place to live and the property values are continuing to rise consistently. This is probably why someone got away with putting a burnt house on the market in the first place.
The State of the Housing Market
The house went up in flames back in August. Everyone got out of the house okay and the only injuries are heat-related injuries sustained by firefighters that reported to the scene.
Not surprisingly, the house is getting a lot of attention on social media. Many people consider it a grim symbol of the housing market right now. One person wrote, “Will sell for $67K over ask,” referencing the fact many houses are selling above initial asking prices.
Although, not many areas could get away with selling a burned-down house. According to Zillow, the median house price in Melrose is about $793,490 and there are plenty of houses that sell for over a million.
The housing market is certainly in an unprecedented state. For example, according to a Twitter thread from the Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman, one woman was beyond desperate to get a home. The Bethesda, Maryland native wrote in her written pledge that she vowed to name her firstborn after the seller.
She still lost the bidding war.
