STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Here in the U.S., the housing market is beginning to show signs of recovery. And today's last word in business is the return of an old trend - bidding wars.
According to the Wall Street Journal, sales of previously owned homes are up more than 10 percent from last year. At the same time, the number of homes for sale is at the lowest level in years. And the result, according to many real estate firms, is that most of the offers being made these days come with competing bids for the same house. People have to bid up the house.
The bids can sometimes come with creative twists. The real estate brokerage company Redfin says that when one client bid on a home in Gaithersburg, Maryland, they won when they also agreed to adopt Buddy, the previous owner's toy poodle. The dog conveyed with the house.
And that's the business news on MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.