In Real Estate Fever, More Signs of Sickness

By Daniela Deane

Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, April 17, 2005; Page A01

Matt Marshman watched it happen in one Germantown neighborhood in February. Each house that went up for sale cost about $15,000 more than the last. And the houses were all very much alike.

"We could see the prices going up every day," said Marshman, who with his wife Tracy Hernandez managed to buy the third house that they wanted there. The four-bedroom Colonial was listed for $30,000 more than other sellers had asked for a similar house just three weeks earlier. The couple eventually won a bidding war by offering $26,000 more than the asking price.