Harvard University is investigating whether its longtime fencing coach improperly recruited a high school student whose dad bought the coach’s house for far more than it was worth, according to a report Thursday.

The real estate deal took place in May 2016, when coach Peter Brand sold his three-bedroom Colonial in suburban Needham, Massachusetts, to Jie “Jack” Zhao for $989,500 — even though it only had an assessed value of $549,300, the Boston Globe said.

Zhao’s younger son was later admitted to Harvard and joined the fencing team, and Zhao — who made a fortune in the telecom industry — sold the house after 17 months for $665,000, the Globe said.

The $324,500 loss was nearly one-third of what he had paid for the property.

Needham Director of Assessing Chip Davis told the Globe that Zhao’s purchase of the home was so out of line with its assessed value that it triggered an automatic inspection.

His notes from the time show he described the property as being “in bad shape” and wrote that its nearly $1 million sale price “makes no sense.”

Harvard said it was conducting an “independent review” of the Globe’s findings, with spokeswoman Rachael Dane saying, “We are committed to ensuring the integrity of our recruitment practices.”

The scandal comes amid the ongoing prosecution of 33 wealthy parents — including actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman — who are charged in a conspiracy to bribe their kids’ way into college.

Harvard hasn’t been implicated in that case — dubbed “Operation Varsity Blues” — but a former women’s soccer coach at rival Yale University pleaded guilty last week and is cooperating with the feds.

Zhao, whose older son graduated from Harvard last year and was also a member of the fencing team, denied that he bought the house to help his younger son get into the Ivy League school.

“I want to help Peter Brand because I feel so sorry he has to travel so much to go to fencing practice,” he told the Globe, which said Harvard is about a 12-mile drive from the house in Needham.

Brant didn’t respond to emails or a phone message, the Globe said.