Condemned Fremont property gets multiple offers, sells for $1.23M all cash

FREMONT, Calif. - If you need  proof the red hot Bay Area real estate market shows no signs of cooling, consider this. In Fremont, a buyer put up over a million dollars to purchase a house that’s been condemned.

The home sits mid-block on Bruce Drive. It was condemned in 2013, and has three-bedrooms, and two-bathrooms. The roof has holes and mildew is eating away the interior. The house Just sold for a whopping $1.23M.

“My neighbor told me that. I said ‘Oh.’ In cash. I said, ‘OH!’ I can’t believe it,” said neighbor Yvonne Yen.

She has lived next door the past 12 years. Yen bought her home for $750,000. Realtor Larry Gallegos said the price deferential reflects demand, as prospective buyers were burning up his phone from dawn till dusk. After a week, the seller chose one of five all-cash offers.

“We had a couple of offers that were very close. Actually, my client when if first met them wanted a little bit more than that with the price they had In their mind. But they ended up being happy with this one,” said Gallegos from his Fremont office.

He said the sellers are a family unable to come to a consensus on owning, and decided to sell. The buyer designs green homes, and plans to put a four-thousand square foot masterpiece on that large lot. He actually paid 230-thousand dollars over asking price.

“There’s nothing surprising about this. It’s a great example of location, location, location,” said David Stark of the Bay East Association of Realtors.

He said buying a tear-down to build a dream home reflects a 10-year trend. The tony Mission San Jose section of Fremont is desirable, with the average home selling for one-point-three million dollars. He said unlike 2008, today’s sky high prices show no indication a crash is coming..

“People are purchasing homes. They’re purchasing vacant properties like this. The demand is there. The supply isn’t. These prices are sustainable,” said Stark.

Other residents see both the blessing and curse of living in the land of seven figure homes.

“We trying to move, because the property tax is costing me a thousand dollars a month. But we have no place to move,” said Yen.

It’s a paradox that has some owners are suffering under high taxes while others are able to unload their homes, even when they’re unlivable.