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from the but-those-square-feet-are...deep-AND-tall! dept.
I've seen the price of real estate resume its seemingly relentless rise, but this is insane. A tiny (897 square-foot; 83.6 square meter) house in Palo Alto, California is situated on a 4361 square-foot (405 square meter) lot and has been placed on the market for $2.59 Million:
The little home at 128 Middlefield Road, has two-bedrooms, one-bathroom but is just 15 minutes away from Googleplex and the other tech giants, making the small home in high demand.
[...] The home was sold back in 2008 for just $899,000 and the current price tag is actually below market value for the area today.
The house was built in 1924 and has been remodeled through the years to keep it current.
The actual asking price is unclear. The Daily Mail article (first link) claims a price of $2.59 million, but he broker listing in the embedded link shows the price being $1,988,000; quite a bit less, but still quite expensive.
The article has pictures of each room as well as the yard; it looks to me like a quite nice home. One of the pictures shows a bulkhead, but I saw no mention of a basement.
If this tiny house costs this much, what would be considered a starter home? And how much would that cost? Though I realize this story is about Palo Alto, I understand there are other places in the world with sky high real estate prices. London, Singapore, and Hong Kong come to mind.
What are housing prices like in your area... how much would it cost you to buy a home comparable to this one, or to rent an apartment of equivalent size?
(Score: 1) by Arik on Tuesday September 25 2018, @03:02PM (4 children)
But the entire industry is setup to encourage bubbles, and human psychology means it isn't that hard.
Prices can only go up. Until sales stagnate for a long period of time, and then collapse, that is.
This one's probably a pretty safe investment for a few more years at least. The bubble in Palo Alto isn't likely to collapse anytime real soon. So... sure, I suppose if I was *making* an extra 8 or 900 grand a year just for living in that location, it would make sense. Buy the little house, live there for a few years, then sell it for a profit when ready to move.
But it really doesn't sound like a pleasant place to live. I mean, California in general, but Palo Alto in particular just seems like a concentrated encampment of pure greed. I wouldn't want to live there, and could only imagine doing it for money - and hating every minute as a result.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Tuesday September 25 2018, @03:29PM (2 children)
The price has already dropped:$1,988,000
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2) by Kilo110 on Tuesday September 25 2018, @05:03PM (1 child)
I wonder if the 2.6 price was an intentional marketing gimmick
(Score: 2) by VLM on Tuesday September 25 2018, @06:37PM
Maybe they'll drop another half mil, that would be a great gimmick. Well, maybe not in CA. But who knows?
(Score: 3, Funny) by bob_super on Tuesday September 25 2018, @04:20PM
Think of all the money you'll save on household cleaning products and unnecessary volume air conditioning ! Totally worth it!