One homebuyer was tired of losing out in Portland’s hot housing market where, like Seattle, bidding wars are common and are sending prices soaring.

So the buyer made an offer a seller couldn’t refuse: Pizza every month for life.
Donna DiNicola, owner of DiNicola’s Italian Restaurant in southeast Portland, says she was partially joking when her offer for a 900-square-foot house included pizza – but it worked.

She offered $275,000 for the house – which was at the top of her price range – as well as the pizza and two months of free rent for the sellers.

“Donna’s offer was just so compelling and the fact that she offered 60 days of rent back for free, which is practically unheard of,” says Holly Marsh, the seller. “And then the pizza part was just hilarious. It just goes to show they really did something to stand out among the offers.”

The house has now been dubbed the “pizza house,” said Nathaniel Bachelder, the listing agent from Urban Nest Realty.

DiNicola’s pizza offer made it stand out. “Everything’s going pending in a couple days,” Bachelder said about the market in Portland. “Almost everything’s getting multiple offers.”

Housing inventories for March and April were at less than a two-month supply, far below normal.