One buyer in Santa Cruz plunked down $1 million for a home only 328 square feet in size. Not all is as it seems, though.
According to SFGATE, the Seabright neighborhood home sold last month above its initial $988,000 asking price. The buyers, who have not been revealed, used an all-cash offer to beat out four other bidders for the home along Mountain View Avenue. Built in 1948, it sold in 1999 for $250,000.
The minuscule cottage includes one bedroom and one bathroom. But it has a little more going for it than the 328 square feet.
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SFGATE reports that there is a garage attached to the home, which has been converted to a livable space with its own bathroom. The conversion was done without permits, however, so its square footage does not appear in county records.
Even with the unauthorized accessory dwelling unit, though, the home is still tiny. The listing agent, Walter Strauss, believes it will take a lot of work to turn the home into a primary residence, SFGATE reports.
The home does have other advantages, notably plenty of outdoor space: It comes on a 3,800-square-foot lot. The home is located back from the street and is close to the beach and to a number of restaurants. According to the listing, it has a deck overlooking the backyard, a storage shed, and laundry hookups below the house. And Santa Cruz is close to Silicon Valley, the tightest housing market in the nation.
While the price of this tiny home in Santa Cruz makes it seem like a luxury buy, some municipalities have been turning to tiny homes in the fight against homelessness. San Francisco is installing dozens of 64-square-foot shelters in two parking lots leased by the city. The shelters will be made of a steel frame with 2-inch-thick walls and include a desk, bed and window.
[SFGATE] — Holden Walter-Warner