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Burned out home and lot in Silicon Valley selling for $800K

Published  April 11, 2018 9:51am PDT
News
KTVU FOX 2

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KTVU) - A burned out home, and the property it sits on, in San Jose’s Willow Glen neighborhood is selling for $800,000. The Realtor said the asking price is reasonable given the housing market and its location.

But regular people find the price out of sight.

“Growing up here, I think it's crazy,” said Julie McCarthy of San Jose. “It was orchards here when I grew up not Silicon Valley.”

Realtor Holly Barr, however, said she's selling the 5,800-square-foot lot -- not the house.

“They did leave it standing so you can remodel it versus tearing it down so you save a lot of money when you can leave a wall up and do a remodel versus a complete teardown,” said Barr.

Barr posted the home on the Willow Glen Charm Facebook page. Many people aired their frustration with the housing market.

“If you are in the market you know real estate you know that this is what it's worth and the buyers set the price,” said Barr.

“I’m not surprised at all,” said Rick Smith of Santa Clara County Realtors Association. “I ran some numbers in that area. There have been many sales within a quarter mile just in the last month or three that have been a million five, a million six.”

Smith said buying the burned out home for its asking price and rebuilding is a lot cheaper than buying a brand new house in Willow Glen. 

He also said nowadays, one of the main selling points for a property in Silicon Valley is its proximity to high-tech employment. The home is close to San Jose’s Diridon station near the proposed Google Village. 

“Buyers are trading money for time all the time now so they can be closer to their employment,” said Smith.

The latest numbers in Santa Clara County show the median price for a single family home is $1,400,000. It comes at a time when 876 single family homes are up for sale, which is 22 percent less than last year.

The Realtor said in less than 24 hours since posting it on Facebook, 10 potential buyers have contacted her. She anticipates it will sell in a few days.