Timothy F. Geithner, who finished
his term as U.S. Treasury secretary in January, has found a
buyer for his house in Bethesda, Maryland, just a week after
listing the home for $995,000.

Geithner’s four-bedroom property on Ogden Road is under
contract with some contingencies, but isn’t dependent on a buyer
selling a current house to close the deal, according to the
website of brokerage Redfin Corp. It was listed March 14.

The quick deal is a contrast to Geithner’s attempt to sell
his home in New York’s Westchester County in 2009, which ended
with him renting the house out. U.S. home demand is rebounding
as employment improves and buyers seek to take advantage of low
mortgage rates, while inventory is tight. In Bethesda, there’s
about a 1.5-month supply of houses listed for sale, compared
with a six-month supply in a normal market, according to Mark
Butterfield, owner of Re/Max Realty Services in Bethesda.

“We have a shortage of inventory,” said Butterfield, who
isn’t involved in Geithner’s home sale. “Multiple offers are
very common. Good stuff sells quickly.”

Matthew Maury, the real estate agent for Geithner’s home,
with Stuart Maury Inc., declined to comment. Jenni LeCompte,
Geithner’s spokeswoman, also declined to comment.

August 2009

Geithner bought the home in August 2009 for $950,000,
according to public records. Built in 1954, the 2,500-square-
foot (232-square-meter) house has hardwood floors, a family room
with a “soaring ceiling,” two recreation rooms and a deck that
overlooks the backyard on the 10,000-square-foot lot, according
to the listing.

Home prices in 20 cities tracked by the SP/Case-Shiller
index are 0.1 percent below their August 2009 average as of
December, the most recent month available. Prices in the
Washington metropolitan area are up 5.1 percent over the period,
according to the index.

Geithner still owns a home in the Westchester County
village of Larchmont that he bought in August 2004 for $1.6
million, according to the Town of Mamaroneck Assessor’s office,
which estimated the property’s value at $1.32 million in 2012.
He put the house up for rent for $7,500 a month in 2009 when he
failed to find a buyer, after being appointed Treasury
Secretary.

Sales of U.S. previously owned homes increased to annual
pace of 4.98 million last month, the National Association of
Realtors reported today. That was the fastest since November
2009, when the government offered tax credits to stimulate the
housing market.

To contact the reporter on this story:
John Gittelsohn in Los Angeles at
johngitt@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Kara Wetzel at
kwetzel@bloomberg.net