Condemned Cali House Spurs Bidding War And Eventually Sells For $755,000

If you’re looking for signs that the California real estate market is cooling down, this probably isn’t the article for you.

That’s because this past week the NY Post reported that a condemned house in Silicon Valley that’s ‘unfit for human occupancy’ just sold for three quarters of a million dollars after an intense bidding war. 

The property at 2161 Elliot St. in San Jose, a modest seven-bedroom, two-bathroom home sold for $755,000, surpassing its $699,000 asking price. 

The Post reported that it was purchased by a developer, will be redeveloped with an architect and resold.

The bright teal house was built in 1900, the report says. It had an unrenovated interior with scuffed walls, a broken door, and dated appliances. 

It was also deemed unfit for occupancy due to numerous code violations, and Santa Clara County condemned it. Despite this, its prime location on a nearly 4,000-square-foot corner lot in Burbank drew eager buyers, highlighting the area’s strong real estate market, said Compass agent Robert Gosalvez.

He told the Post: “Due to its prime location and zoning, this property not only attracted attention from DIYers, builders and investors, but also from those seeking mixed-use properties all eager to capitalize on the opportunity.” 

“The level of interest while on the market was substantial, leading to the distribution of dozens of disclosure packages and resulting in seven offers, all of which were either cash or have access to hard money loans,” he continued. 

“I believe in a couple years or less, we will see a modern, attached, multi unit property on this lot,” he concluded.