Significantly tiny in size, a Cupertino home is selling for big bucks: $1.7 million
A home in Cupertino, Calif., that measures less than 400 square feet is making headlines across the U.S. for its surprising asking price: more than $1.7 million.
Some are comparing the one-bedroom and one-bathroom home to a hotel room, so small that there isn’t enough space in the kitchen for a full size refrigerator or stove.
What’s also drawing people’s attention is the size of the lot the home sits on: nearly 7,900 square feet.
It received eight offers, all above the asking price, and the winning bidder is expected to close escrow in May.
“The marketing strategy was to market the [listing] as a home and to get as many eyes on it as possible and it obviously worked,” said Faviola Perez, a broker with the Compass Bonafede Team.
High real estate prices are not uncommon in California’s Silicon Valley, home to tech giants such as Apple, Google and Oracle. The median price for homes sold in Cupertino is $2 million, according to a recent report by Rocket Homes. And the tiny house on Carmen Road shows that size doesn’t always matter.
After adding 12 this year, California accounts for 210 of the country’s 550 cities where the typical home value is more than $1 million, according to an analysis by Zillow.
Perez, the co-listing agent for the home, said the team knew the bulk of the value of the property was in the land.
The property has potential for expansion or building on, but the “shock factor” for everyone was the size of the home and its accompanying price tag, she said.
The Zillow listing says the home is nestled at the end of a cul-de-sac, near hiking trails and Silicon Valley’s tech hubs.
More importantly, Perez said, the home is close to the Los Altos Hills border, an area where home values start at an estimated $5 million, according to Zillow.
Los Altos Hills home values influence those in adjacent communities, an added bonus for someone who wants to build. Perez said the city of Cupertino’s planning department will allow the property owner to build a home that’s more than 3,600 square feet in size.
“It definitely is location, location, location, as cliche as that may sound,” she said.
Southern California home prices have hit a record despite high interest rates, a reflection of a shortage of inventory and the region’s wealth disparity.
The broker could not disclose the total price tag until the sale is final but said it’s selling for “considerably over asking.”
Neighbors told Perez that the home was initially used as a hunting cabin.
“The home was actually built brick by brick in the 1940s by the family that is currently selling it,” she said.
It was later used by the family as a rental but became vacant for some time.
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