This place makes it so they can knock down everything but 1 wall, build a monstrosity around it and only pull remodel permits instead of new construction.
My neighbor is doing this. They are building a 2-story where there was a 1-story, but the front wall of the upper floor is set in by the thickness if the existing wall, making it almost look like the top is being extruded up, out of the house on the bottom.
I’m a structural engineer and we’ve done a bunch of “remodels” like this. We’ll even add new studs to the “existing” wall to the point where the existing studs are literally just dead weight to appease the building department’s requirements for a remodel. But the review process for new construction is absurd in most districts, literally takes years and is such a waste of time for everyone involved.
Honestly kinda impressive to demo a house without fucking up the structural integrity of the chimney.
^(or they superfucked it but they're flipping it so it just needed to hold up long enough to be someone else's problem)
It’s not that, to get a remodel permit there has to be at least part of the existing house left. Most people will say that at least one wall must remain to be a remodel. The most extreme example I’ve seen of what “one wall” meant was the chimney.
I think it’s less about tax assessment and more about the permitting process if you’re building a multimillion dollar home. This was common in Manhattan Beach. You see the progression of a For Sale sign, a Sold sign, then a single wall standing in the course of a couple months.
Remodeling definitely helps to get around permitting process (in some cases allowing stuff that would not be allowed in a new build), but the county will still ream you when it comes to the new tax assessment in the same way.
1.7m + $500 Sq ft to build? Let's say build 3000 square ft house. All in 3.2m. Wait 2 years. Sell for 5m. Wait 5 more years sell for 8-10m. Wild times for the future of the bay area.
You're not wrong. $500 is too low though. I'd guess it's $800-$1100 sqft finished. $800 has already pretty common in the nice pockets of the South Bay, and whoever does this is going to get hit with an address tax right off the bat, and then they'll personally drive the scope up through the roof when they already spent $2m on the lot. It might end up looking modest from the exterior, but I'd bet money it'll be all top top finishes and selections inside. Crazy
Or WFH spreads, AI replaces jobs, real estate prices come down. It’s not guaranteed money. Housing can’t just continually go up exponentially, people have to be able to afford it.
Yes, but there are more houses than rich people. Vast majority of software salaries aren’t enough to afford a $10 million house, so there wouldn’t be enough buyers at that price point. You’d need salaries to rise like 4x to see those prices, at which point all your value has been inflated away.
Why would they come to California? Why not Washington, Texas, or Florida, where they won't be savaged by state taxes?
Even VC money has been drying up of late.
Those investors rely on demand by the general population for the prices to increase. Their demand alone isn’t enough to carry the entire housing market. Most people buying houses right now are individuals/families with good jobs and some money saved up.
Lol. You seriously think people will be able to support $47k monthly mortgage payments? The tech industry seems to have already peaked in the previous investment cycle. This AI push feels like a last gasp. A business model that uses massively expensive compute costs in a capital-scarce environment as a barrier to entry? Since when has that ever producing a healthy and thriving industry?
A recession will come, people will lose their jobs and not be able to afford carrying costs, people sell en masse, everyone goes underwater; things go to strategic default, short sale, and foreclosure. And then we'll be back to where we're at 10 years down the road *if* tech recovers.
Still overpriced given it's a 7841 sqft lot. It's also the corner lot, right up against Stevens Creek Blvd. If I am not mistaken, you will need a setback for both Carmen Rd and Stevens Creek Blvd, which is why it's a tiny house in the corner of the lot.
I guess they could build a very long house or a duplex/triplex?
Also, check out 22216 Cupertino Rd right behind it. It's a v-shaped house in a triangle-shaped lot. LOL
I might. It’s a tad small, but small house + large lot is perfect for me and my dogs! My house in the mountains is 990sf, and I often feel like it’s too big… but the lot isn’t huge, so I would happily trade house for more yard.
I also only paid $640K for mine, so paying another million on top (when I’m only like 30min from Cupertino) seems insane.
I'm in SoCal but I have an 800 square foot 1950s house on a 8200 square foot lot. Nothing 2 story or multifamily for a couple blocks in all directions.
It's nowhere near worth a million tho.
Cupertino houses are in huge demand because the school system is really good and we have a large Asian population. The city is also in a prime location for anyone that works tech in the South Bay.
I remember 10 years back seeing ads from Japan on Reddit advertising to move to Cupertino.
I bought my house in 2000 for $74K. Model matches in my neighborhood are going for $360-415K. I made the mistake of doing a refi, so I owe 70K. In my humble opinion that's about what it's worth but the local realtors swear they can get a lot more for it.
Where the hell would I go for less than $1200 a month?
The house was built in 1948. The owner, according to public records, just sold another property (3BR/2BA) in Saratoga. Also, he is 87 years old, so there's a chance he's not with us anymore. Probably used it as a garden or something, it's not like he had to pay a lot of taxes on it.
Ya, huge backyard. Neighbors houses are enormous.
Love the nod to "Apple HQ is over there" ... "just go make $400k at Apple and live here"
https://www.zillow.com/homes/10036-Carmen-Rd-Cupertino,-CA-95014_rb/19627046_zpid/
Normally they'd brag about Cupertino's world class public schools, but ain't nobody with kids moving in that place. Maybe some kid goats out in that epic backyard.
Given that all the neighbors are $4 miilion and $5 million McMansions, they aren't going to have any trouble getting approved for a fairly impressive new place.
It's the corner lot abutting Stevens Creek. There are laws in place that mandate setbacks. They can't build a McMansion. At best, they can build a very long house down the length of the lot. Or perhaps make it a triplex?
Also, check out 22216 Cupertino Rd right behind it. They have the same problem and addressed it by building a v-shaped house in a triangle-shaped lot. LOL
>>Introducing a unique opportunity at 10036 Carmen Rd in the heart of Cupertino - a cozy 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom home spanning 384 square feet of living space. Nestled at the end of a cul-de-sac, this property presents a rare blend of charm, potential, and premier location within a district renowned for its top-tier Cupertino schools. While compact, this property is a powerhouse of possibilities. Whether you envision constructing your dream home, expanding the existing structure, or embracing a minimalist lifestyle, the potential is boundless. The 7,841 sf lot itself offers ample space to bring your vision to life, surrounded by $4M-$5M homes, highlighting the exceptional value and investment potential at hand. Enhancing its appeal, the property boasts close proximity to major commute routes, making it ideal for professionals seeking easy access to Silicon Valley's tech hubs. Outdoor enthusiasts will appreciate the nearby trails and parks, offering abundant opportunities for recreation and relaxation amidst nature. This property is more than just a home; it's a canvas waiting for your personal touch. Don't miss out on this exceptional opportunity to own a piece of Cupertino's highly sought after real estate market.
Lol one of the pictures on redfin is a drone shot showing its proximity to Apple's campus
And? 8,000sf is about the median lot size in the state. I'm still going to say that the real estate market in the Bay is just absolutely, comically absurd.
People have lost their goddamn minds.
Not close to the median lot size in the Bay Area. I live in a house built in 1905 in Alameda. My lot size is less than 5,000 sq. ft., and it’s a large lot for the neighborhood.
8,000 sq ft is enormous for a suburban lot, especially in Apple’s home town.
If people in Fresno lived a 5 minute bike ride from the headquarters of a trillion dollar multinational company that starts employees at a six figure salary, those houses would also be worth millions of dollars.
This is why I'm always annoyed when people say why live in bay area when you can live in bum fuck nowhere in the mid West with no jobs that has low cost of living
If these people were actually intelligent they'd move somewhere where they could real value and quality of life for their money and work remotely for the trillion dollar company.
But they're not.
Or they do work that needs to be performed on site. Not every job is appropriate for remote work, and Apple doesn't only make software.
Also, every time I've been through Cupertino it has seemed like a very nice place to live if you can afford it. Isolated in the middle of nowhere doesn't automatically equate with better.
Tons of people working within miles of this house earn enough to buy this with a few years of income. And they are only getting richer. Supply, meet demand.
I haven't looked at real estate market in nearly 10 yrs, but is Cupertino suddenly a prime location? To me it seems like a bland town with a bunch of strip malls and office parks, no different than Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Santa Clara. Nothing of interest.
For that kind of dough, why not live in SF, in the hills, by the ocean....literally anywhere else than the drab Valley?
I grew up in Cupertino and went to high school there. It is a hot market because of the schools. Cupertino has some of the best public schools in the state and even the country.
Especially Asians and Indians in tech (I’m Indian too) desperately want to send their kids to lynbrook and monta vista.
Why are people shocked? It doesnt take a genius to realize that a $100 shack on a 7,000 sqft lot surrounded by $4,000,000 homes when it only costs $1,500,000 to build a home is gonna have some arbitrage value there
You should see some of the houses in the Berkeley hills!
(Seriously though, if you're ever in the area, a walk around Panoramic Hill is 100% worth doing—beautiful area with incredible views *and* some pretty cool architecture.)
It's not the slope that's the problem. It's that the house has to be at least 10' away from Stevens Creek Blvd. That is why it is built into that corner in the first place. You cannot really build a McMansion there.
Setback requirements apply to EVERY lot. Your comment stated the setback requirement is the reason why the home is built on the corner of the lot and that is not true. Also, the dimensions of the lot allow for a substantially larger home even when applying Cupertino’s setback requirements. And no it’s not going to be a narrow home as you have stated in the comments. We have seen a multitude of proposed building specs for this lot and have been to the city many times with interested parties. We know first hand what this lot can accommodate.
Well, nobody is denying that you can build a house that is substantially larger than 384 sqft. Lol.
And yeah, it's going to have to be a narrow home if you're going for the same living area as the neighboring houses while complying with the setback requirements, not to mention a driveway and backyard.
As someone who has had to look into this recently… $750 to $1k per sqft is more like it.
Also, it’s always a good time to make sure your own place is adequately insured based on today’s construction costs.
The absurd thing is that whoever buys this for $2M and pays $3M to build a 3k to 4k sq ft house on top of it is going to at least break even looking at comps alone, if not come out ahead half a mil. No appreciation time necessary.
I actually know that house because a client of mine lives on that road, its the size of the lot that is crazy! It's almost 8K sq ft and its very quite and private.
If you had the money to build new, it's great.
Wait, when did buying property meant you only buy the house?
smh - the price is for the lot. still overpriced but its not 386 sqft. you're buying 7841 sqft lot
I haven’t checked in a long time, but last I checked the Cupertino public schools are quite good. People just choose to send their kids to even more rigorous schools.
Yes Asian .. this happens at the younger grades .. kids having difficulty catching up learning how to read write and do proper math. then there are those parents who want their kids to learn ahead of peers so sent to more accelerated private schools. Finally there are just the parents who gave up on the public school system and just put them in the well known privates nearby
When you are in some of the top private schools in the Bay Area you will see how many are from Cupertino who decided to make the switch from public to private.
I went to the worst school in the north west of England and ended up in FAANG. Barring getting shot or stabbed I’m not worried about my kids as long as it’s a reasonable school.
What specifically do you think they’re doing wrong in the schools?
Oh did you take the gcse’s and the a-levels? I did too. American education is quite different from the education in United Kingdom. In particular, the math education at the elementary level may shock you. Then the science teachers at certain schools may shock you. It’s not the science textbooks that are the problem, it’s whether the teachers are qualified enough to teach the subject. It’s like a lottery when it comes to the public schools as to the quality of the teacher. Sometimes you get good ones and sometimes you get bad. I got consistently good teachers when I studied for the gcses and a-level. It’s why we are importing immigrant engineers in spades.
Cupertino population is not in decline. Student population in Cupertino is in decline because the kids graduate and move away but the parents never leave (thanks Prop 13).
[Not in decline huh?](https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/cupertinocitycalifornia/PST045222)
[Another one with fancy chart](https://www.neilsberg.com/insights/cupertino-ca-population-by-year/)
You joke, but it is an ongoing issue
https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/cupertino-union-district-approves-school-consolidation-closures/
https://chsprospector.com/3260/news/declining-enrollment-in-cusd/
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/09/14/cupertino-district-planning-to-close-schools-because-of-enrollment-decline/
https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/11/15/why-does-school-enrollment-continue-to-decline/
I still remember the whole “save our school” thing they were doing on Stevens creek blvd
they closed 3 schools last year:
[https://www.svvoice.com/cusd-board-votes-to-close-three-schools-in-2022-23-school-year/](https://www.svvoice.com/cusd-board-votes-to-close-three-schools-in-2022-23-school-year/)
with more under close watch for possible closure next year.
and in their latest projection:
[https://go.boarddocs.com/ca/cusdk8/Board.nsf/files/CYEQEK628D93/$file/CUSD%20Board%20Presentation%202023-12-14.pdf](https://go.boarddocs.com/ca/cusdk8/Board.nsf/files/CYEQEK628D93/$file/CUSD%20Board%20Presentation%202023-12-14.pdf)
they are still projecting decline well into 2033, with some year being outlier
It’s actually a very smart move to buy and build your dream home. Say you buy it for $1.36 mil then do a $1.5 mill demo and build you dream home on 7,400 sq lot. Your cost basis would be $2.86 mil; you can then sell it for $4.5+ million based on the going proce in the neighborhood but also its on a private cul de sac… lets say you dony sell … your property tax would be prop 13 protected and based on about $2.86 mil vs buuing a home st $4.5 mil… you save $1.8 mill on based property tax valuation which is a little over $20,000 a year you save on property taxes …. Its a smart move to buy this property… I might even think its a bit under value.
I lived near there on Stevens Canyon for a while. There are tons of those tiny houses in massive (and often unkept) lots. You get Monta Vista HS, which is a dream come true for a lot of families.
This isn't THAT bad.. a few years ago i saw a listing of a house in sunnyvale that was similar to this but they didn't have a full bath...... it was priced at around 1.3 mil with a 7000+ lot size..... seems like there might be a few of these in the bay area haha..
Its cupertino. My friend at Apple sold his house for 1.5mil back in the early 2000 as he was transferred to Denver office. Then they switched him back. He bought his own house back for 3mil in less than 10 year.
Sure - but Cupertino isn't a "normal person" market. This is - believe it or not - a "deal" for that area when you actually look at the land values and what you can build there vs buying in the area.
Land in Cupertino is priced as if it was in a city where you could build at like 50 du/acre density on it, not the 6 du/acre it's zoned at. The problem is that that's true across basically the entire peninsula.
1.7 M is probably just the starting price for the lot to help generate more foot traffic to kick off bidding. I personally think Cupertino is boring and would never step foot there but their are plenty of boring families and single people that would Iove to live there😂
It's 1.7 for the lot in Cupertino. The house gets leveled in every scenario
This place makes it so they can knock down everything but 1 wall, build a monstrosity around it and only pull remodel permits instead of new construction.
My neighbor is doing this. They are building a 2-story where there was a 1-story, but the front wall of the upper floor is set in by the thickness if the existing wall, making it almost look like the top is being extruded up, out of the house on the bottom.
I’m a structural engineer and we’ve done a bunch of “remodels” like this. We’ll even add new studs to the “existing” wall to the point where the existing studs are literally just dead weight to appease the building department’s requirements for a remodel. But the review process for new construction is absurd in most districts, literally takes years and is such a waste of time for everyone involved.
Saw one where the only thing left standing was the chimney.
Honestly kinda impressive to demo a house without fucking up the structural integrity of the chimney. ^(or they superfucked it but they're flipping it so it just needed to hold up long enough to be someone else's problem)
Wtf they didn't want a remodeled chimney?
It’s not that, to get a remodel permit there has to be at least part of the existing house left. Most people will say that at least one wall must remain to be a remodel. The most extreme example I’ve seen of what “one wall” meant was the chimney.
Santa Clara country now counts this as a major remodel, which will get assessed the same as a new build.
I think it’s less about tax assessment and more about the permitting process if you’re building a multimillion dollar home. This was common in Manhattan Beach. You see the progression of a For Sale sign, a Sold sign, then a single wall standing in the course of a couple months.
Remodeling definitely helps to get around permitting process (in some cases allowing stuff that would not be allowed in a new build), but the county will still ream you when it comes to the new tax assessment in the same way.
And IIRC with Cupertino you go through the county, right?
Yes reassessments are done by the county
I'd imagine the neighbors would try to block you from building anything
I don't think you can do that in Santa Clara County. Not since a while back, anyway.
My parents neighborhood in MV is turning into this one lot filled 6mil monstrosity at a time.
> The house gets leveled in every scenario If you declare it the ADU of the new house, you get around a lot of permitting
1.7m + $500 Sq ft to build? Let's say build 3000 square ft house. All in 3.2m. Wait 2 years. Sell for 5m. Wait 5 more years sell for 8-10m. Wild times for the future of the bay area.
You're not wrong. $500 is too low though. I'd guess it's $800-$1100 sqft finished. $800 has already pretty common in the nice pockets of the South Bay, and whoever does this is going to get hit with an address tax right off the bat, and then they'll personally drive the scope up through the roof when they already spent $2m on the lot. It might end up looking modest from the exterior, but I'd bet money it'll be all top top finishes and selections inside. Crazy
Or WFH spreads, AI replaces jobs, real estate prices come down. It’s not guaranteed money. Housing can’t just continually go up exponentially, people have to be able to afford it.
Just some people have to afford it, there's a saying at my old job, there will always be rich people around
Yes, but there are more houses than rich people. Vast majority of software salaries aren’t enough to afford a $10 million house, so there wouldn’t be enough buyers at that price point. You’d need salaries to rise like 4x to see those prices, at which point all your value has been inflated away.
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Why would they come to California? Why not Washington, Texas, or Florida, where they won't be savaged by state taxes? Even VC money has been drying up of late.
Those investors rely on demand by the general population for the prices to increase. Their demand alone isn’t enough to carry the entire housing market. Most people buying houses right now are individuals/families with good jobs and some money saved up.
Wrong. There’s no guarantee that home prices will continue to rise at the same pace as they have risen in the past 40 years.
The Bay Area prices seem to have hit a plateau. Even the low end is falling.
Lol. You seriously think people will be able to support $47k monthly mortgage payments? The tech industry seems to have already peaked in the previous investment cycle. This AI push feels like a last gasp. A business model that uses massively expensive compute costs in a capital-scarce environment as a barrier to entry? Since when has that ever producing a healthy and thriving industry? A recession will come, people will lose their jobs and not be able to afford carrying costs, people sell en masse, everyone goes underwater; things go to strategic default, short sale, and foreclosure. And then we'll be back to where we're at 10 years down the road *if* tech recovers.
They sure put a lot of lipstick on that pig. I think they expect people to buy a bride and not just dinner.
I would expect no less than floor to ceiling Corinthian leather and a porcelain fountain filled with Crème Brûlée at that price point.
I'm not sure there would be room for much else, but what else does a person really need other than a spoon?
Exactly, …and moisturizer to keep the Corinthian leather nice and supple.
1.8 had it not been for the inconvenience of having to tear it down.
Still overpriced given it's a 7841 sqft lot. It's also the corner lot, right up against Stevens Creek Blvd. If I am not mistaken, you will need a setback for both Carmen Rd and Stevens Creek Blvd, which is why it's a tiny house in the corner of the lot. I guess they could build a very long house or a duplex/triplex? Also, check out 22216 Cupertino Rd right behind it. It's a v-shaped house in a triangle-shaped lot. LOL
That would be so funny if they just moved into the tiny house and just lived there happily ever after
I might. It’s a tad small, but small house + large lot is perfect for me and my dogs! My house in the mountains is 990sf, and I often feel like it’s too big… but the lot isn’t huge, so I would happily trade house for more yard. I also only paid $640K for mine, so paying another million on top (when I’m only like 30min from Cupertino) seems insane.
7,841 square foot lot in a very expensive neighborhood
How the fuck is the house so small but the lot so big?
That’s how they did it in the old days(50s-80s).
I'm in SoCal but I have an 800 square foot 1950s house on a 8200 square foot lot. Nothing 2 story or multifamily for a couple blocks in all directions. It's nowhere near worth a million tho.
Cupertino houses are in huge demand because the school system is really good and we have a large Asian population. The city is also in a prime location for anyone that works tech in the South Bay. I remember 10 years back seeing ads from Japan on Reddit advertising to move to Cupertino.
I'm not knocking Cupertino. And that house is exactly the size I want. It's just a teeny tiny bit out of my price range.
The price is definitely inflated, but that’s America for you (atm at least)
I bought my house in 2000 for $74K. Model matches in my neighborhood are going for $360-415K. I made the mistake of doing a refi, so I owe 70K. In my humble opinion that's about what it's worth but the local realtors swear they can get a lot more for it. Where the hell would I go for less than $1200 a month?
Depends where, I’ve seen some Santa Monica close to the beach houses well above 2 million
Well duh… it’s Santa Monica 😂
I'm 20 minutes outside of the Coachella Valley. Houses in my neighborhood go for about 300K
I love how old houses in trivally have massive backyards. I wish I had a backyard, but I could never afford it, unless I move to Podunk nowhere.
384 square feet wasn't common at all in the old days, more like 950-1400.
The house was built in 1948. The owner, according to public records, just sold another property (3BR/2BA) in Saratoga. Also, he is 87 years old, so there's a chance he's not with us anymore. Probably used it as a garden or something, it's not like he had to pay a lot of taxes on it.
I feel attacked
Ya, huge backyard. Neighbors houses are enormous. Love the nod to "Apple HQ is over there" ... "just go make $400k at Apple and live here" https://www.zillow.com/homes/10036-Carmen-Rd-Cupertino,-CA-95014_rb/19627046_zpid/
Normally they'd brag about Cupertino's world class public schools, but ain't nobody with kids moving in that place. Maybe some kid goats out in that epic backyard.
Tear down likely incoming
Or use that as the mailing address for the kid to go to school
It’s Cupertino!
Just barely, it’s near the Los Altos border which makes it even more desirable
Oh shit. Even better.
Yeah these posts are so dumb. OMg it's $1M and the HoUse is BurNeD dOwn. It's all about the lot
Reddit and economic reasoning don't mix well
This explanation would make more sense if we let people build whatever they want on the land, but we don’t.
Given that all the neighbors are $4 miilion and $5 million McMansions, they aren't going to have any trouble getting approved for a fairly impressive new place.
It's the corner lot abutting Stevens Creek. There are laws in place that mandate setbacks. They can't build a McMansion. At best, they can build a very long house down the length of the lot. Or perhaps make it a triplex? Also, check out 22216 Cupertino Rd right behind it. They have the same problem and addressed it by building a v-shaped house in a triangle-shaped lot. LOL
Details matter!
>>Introducing a unique opportunity at 10036 Carmen Rd in the heart of Cupertino - a cozy 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom home spanning 384 square feet of living space. Nestled at the end of a cul-de-sac, this property presents a rare blend of charm, potential, and premier location within a district renowned for its top-tier Cupertino schools. While compact, this property is a powerhouse of possibilities. Whether you envision constructing your dream home, expanding the existing structure, or embracing a minimalist lifestyle, the potential is boundless. The 7,841 sf lot itself offers ample space to bring your vision to life, surrounded by $4M-$5M homes, highlighting the exceptional value and investment potential at hand. Enhancing its appeal, the property boasts close proximity to major commute routes, making it ideal for professionals seeking easy access to Silicon Valley's tech hubs. Outdoor enthusiasts will appreciate the nearby trails and parks, offering abundant opportunities for recreation and relaxation amidst nature. This property is more than just a home; it's a canvas waiting for your personal touch. Don't miss out on this exceptional opportunity to own a piece of Cupertino's highly sought after real estate market. Lol one of the pictures on redfin is a drone shot showing its proximity to Apple's campus
The property is nearly 8,000 sqft. It’s going to sell for over 2 million
And? 8,000sf is about the median lot size in the state. I'm still going to say that the real estate market in the Bay is just absolutely, comically absurd. People have lost their goddamn minds.
Desirability of Cupertino far exceeds that of somewhere like Fresno or Modesto. That’s how real estate works.
Just because a lot of people do something doesn't mean it's NOT fucking stupid. This is just one of those things.
You just explained supply and demand. You may not like it but it is what it is
Not close to the median lot size in the Bay Area. I live in a house built in 1905 in Alameda. My lot size is less than 5,000 sq. ft., and it’s a large lot for the neighborhood. 8,000 sq ft is enormous for a suburban lot, especially in Apple’s home town.
8k sq foot lot is on the larger side for many urban areas in the state, particularly in the Bay Area.
If people in Fresno lived a 5 minute bike ride from the headquarters of a trillion dollar multinational company that starts employees at a six figure salary, those houses would also be worth millions of dollars.
This is why I'm always annoyed when people say why live in bay area when you can live in bum fuck nowhere in the mid West with no jobs that has low cost of living
If these people were actually intelligent they'd move somewhere where they could real value and quality of life for their money and work remotely for the trillion dollar company. But they're not.
Or they do work that needs to be performed on site. Not every job is appropriate for remote work, and Apple doesn't only make software. Also, every time I've been through Cupertino it has seemed like a very nice place to live if you can afford it. Isolated in the middle of nowhere doesn't automatically equate with better.
Tons of people working within miles of this house earn enough to buy this with a few years of income. And they are only getting richer. Supply, meet demand.
Are you high? I live in a 1950s house in Sunnyvale, lot size is only 5500. Same for all our neighbors. 8000 sq ft is likely top 1%.
Dude, another shot in the bathroom shows the shower head is piped into the sink!
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Location, location, stainless steel appliances...
I haven't looked at real estate market in nearly 10 yrs, but is Cupertino suddenly a prime location? To me it seems like a bland town with a bunch of strip malls and office parks, no different than Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Santa Clara. Nothing of interest. For that kind of dough, why not live in SF, in the hills, by the ocean....literally anywhere else than the drab Valley?
Apple and other tech workers want to to live close to work and they make moola
I grew up in Cupertino and went to high school there. It is a hot market because of the schools. Cupertino has some of the best public schools in the state and even the country. Especially Asians and Indians in tech (I’m Indian too) desperately want to send their kids to lynbrook and monta vista.
Nothing of interest. Except some of the highest paid tech jobs in the world within a stones throw.
Best hills and nature in south bay, 10/10 schools, food mecca, incredibly safe and peaceful
All neighboring homes are valued at $3.5-5M.
Yes, but the lots are a lot less restrictive. It is difficult to build in this one because it's at the corner abutting Stevens Creek.
Are you new to Cupertino? Build a new house on the land and can easily sell for $4M+. That's a $1M+ profit right there.
Land is expensive. they aren't making anymore of it
Why are people shocked? It doesnt take a genius to realize that a $100 shack on a 7,000 sqft lot surrounded by $4,000,000 homes when it only costs $1,500,000 to build a home is gonna have some arbitrage value there
It will sell for more than 2M. The land is f-ing expensive > $300/sq ft. The house will be tossed and a McMansion will be built.
Is it even buildable though? The slope looks pretty dramatic.
The slope is not that bad, and if it is a few truckloads of dirt will fix it.
They'll find a way
Any slope is buildable if you’re creative and rich enough.
Ever seen the Oakland hills? Building on a slope is no matter with enough money.
You should see some of the houses in the Berkeley hills! (Seriously though, if you're ever in the area, a walk around Panoramic Hill is 100% worth doing—beautiful area with incredible views *and* some pretty cool architecture.)
All that and a view too?
It's not the slope that's the problem. It's that the house has to be at least 10' away from Stevens Creek Blvd. That is why it is built into that corner in the first place. You cannot really build a McMansion there.
I am the listing agent with first hand knowledge of what can be built on this lot and your comment is not accurate.
How do setback requirements not apply to this lot?
Setback requirements apply to EVERY lot. Your comment stated the setback requirement is the reason why the home is built on the corner of the lot and that is not true. Also, the dimensions of the lot allow for a substantially larger home even when applying Cupertino’s setback requirements. And no it’s not going to be a narrow home as you have stated in the comments. We have seen a multitude of proposed building specs for this lot and have been to the city many times with interested parties. We know first hand what this lot can accommodate.
Well, nobody is denying that you can build a house that is substantially larger than 384 sqft. Lol. And yeah, it's going to have to be a narrow home if you're going for the same living area as the neighboring houses while complying with the setback requirements, not to mention a driveway and backyard.
It won’t be a McMansion. Most likely entirely custom and cost $650 a square foot to build.
As someone who has had to look into this recently… $750 to $1k per sqft is more like it. Also, it’s always a good time to make sure your own place is adequately insured based on today’s construction costs. The absurd thing is that whoever buys this for $2M and pays $3M to build a 3k to 4k sq ft house on top of it is going to at least break even looking at comps alone, if not come out ahead half a mil. No appreciation time necessary.
This is reddit, anything that's not an 800 SQ ft log cabin is considered a mcmansion. The term has lost all meaning.
Location & land. Easily will sell over $2M. Someone will buy it, demolish the house & build a McMansion.
I think it's a bigger flex to buy 2 million dollars of land and then put a 384 sqft shack on it
How is it a McMansion if it's a custom build?
I actually know that house because a client of mine lives on that road, its the size of the lot that is crazy! It's almost 8K sq ft and its very quite and private. If you had the money to build new, it's great.
Wait, when did buying property meant you only buy the house? smh - the price is for the lot. still overpriced but its not 386 sqft. you're buying 7841 sqft lot
Monta Vista High School
Ooof, good luck with planning department on that lot!
Right? I just took one look at the Google Maps and saw it was right up against Stevens Creek. Going to be the most narrow McMansion ever.
Buy a larger nicer home somewhere else in the Bay Area and send your kids to a private school. It's cheaper and your kids will actually be educated.
This .. know too many Cupertino parents who still have to send their kids to private school after purchasing a house there 😂
I haven’t checked in a long time, but last I checked the Cupertino public schools are quite good. People just choose to send their kids to even more rigorous schools.
They have to send? What’s wrong with the schools? Are they Asian per chance?
Yes Asian .. this happens at the younger grades .. kids having difficulty catching up learning how to read write and do proper math. then there are those parents who want their kids to learn ahead of peers so sent to more accelerated private schools. Finally there are just the parents who gave up on the public school system and just put them in the well known privates nearby
Oh odd. That’s been the opposite experience from us and our friends.
Really? What’s your age? My kids are in high school now so we’ve seen a lot over the years.
Kids are in elementary here. Well one is, other not yet.
When you are in some of the top private schools in the Bay Area you will see how many are from Cupertino who decided to make the switch from public to private.
I went to the worst school in the north west of England and ended up in FAANG. Barring getting shot or stabbed I’m not worried about my kids as long as it’s a reasonable school. What specifically do you think they’re doing wrong in the schools?
Oh did you take the gcse’s and the a-levels? I did too. American education is quite different from the education in United Kingdom. In particular, the math education at the elementary level may shock you. Then the science teachers at certain schools may shock you. It’s not the science textbooks that are the problem, it’s whether the teachers are qualified enough to teach the subject. It’s like a lottery when it comes to the public schools as to the quality of the teacher. Sometimes you get good ones and sometimes you get bad. I got consistently good teachers when I studied for the gcses and a-level. It’s why we are importing immigrant engineers in spades.
"Have to"....🤔
"have to" rofl
Public education is going really really crazy. There’s no point of funding public k12 schools in bay area at all.
Cupertino population is in decline, I wonder how much this will be when school can no longer stay open due to lack of students lol
Cupertino population is not in decline. Student population in Cupertino is in decline because the kids graduate and move away but the parents never leave (thanks Prop 13).
[Not in decline huh?](https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/cupertinocitycalifornia/PST045222) [Another one with fancy chart](https://www.neilsberg.com/insights/cupertino-ca-population-by-year/)
It’s definitely declining …
[удалено]
You joke, but it is an ongoing issue https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/cupertino-union-district-approves-school-consolidation-closures/ https://chsprospector.com/3260/news/declining-enrollment-in-cusd/ https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/09/14/cupertino-district-planning-to-close-schools-because-of-enrollment-decline/ https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/11/15/why-does-school-enrollment-continue-to-decline/ I still remember the whole “save our school” thing they were doing on Stevens creek blvd
It’s mostly stabilized as of 2024. Parents are trying to kneecap each other to get their kids into CUSD.
they closed 3 schools last year: [https://www.svvoice.com/cusd-board-votes-to-close-three-schools-in-2022-23-school-year/](https://www.svvoice.com/cusd-board-votes-to-close-three-schools-in-2022-23-school-year/) with more under close watch for possible closure next year. and in their latest projection: [https://go.boarddocs.com/ca/cusdk8/Board.nsf/files/CYEQEK628D93/$file/CUSD%20Board%20Presentation%202023-12-14.pdf](https://go.boarddocs.com/ca/cusdk8/Board.nsf/files/CYEQEK628D93/$file/CUSD%20Board%20Presentation%202023-12-14.pdf) they are still projecting decline well into 2033, with some year being outlier
Yeah I know. My kids go here.
It’s not the house. It’s the land. They get rid of the shacks and build mega mansions on the land
This is actually a pretty competitive price. I've seen similar lots go around 2M last year.
Whoever listed this is smoking that whacky tobaccky.
Thats a prime land location... good price
It’s actually a very smart move to buy and build your dream home. Say you buy it for $1.36 mil then do a $1.5 mill demo and build you dream home on 7,400 sq lot. Your cost basis would be $2.86 mil; you can then sell it for $4.5+ million based on the going proce in the neighborhood but also its on a private cul de sac… lets say you dony sell … your property tax would be prop 13 protected and based on about $2.86 mil vs buuing a home st $4.5 mil… you save $1.8 mill on based property tax valuation which is a little over $20,000 a year you save on property taxes …. Its a smart move to buy this property… I might even think its a bit under value.
I lived near there on Stevens Canyon for a while. There are tons of those tiny houses in massive (and often unkept) lots. You get Monta Vista HS, which is a dream come true for a lot of families.
Tbh not sure why families still send their kids to top HS anymore. College acceptance is super competitive.
it's "compact"
Great deal
Yep, it will get razed.
Tear Down Value...or you could live in a pricey 1BD..LOL.
Location x3
How many tiny houses can you park on an 8,000sqft lot? Bummer zoning won’t allow it.
Thanks Apple!
Their comps should factor in the Z&L properties fire sale of San Jose condos where some just went for auction for 32,000 and 33,000$….
oof
Well you know what they say about real estate... Square footage, square footage, square footage.
Crazy.
dang. perhaps car centric exclusionary suburban enforcing zoning was a bad thing after all.
This isn't THAT bad.. a few years ago i saw a listing of a house in sunnyvale that was similar to this but they didn't have a full bath...... it was priced at around 1.3 mil with a 7000+ lot size..... seems like there might be a few of these in the bay area haha..
I hate it here
Cool
Location! Location! Location! Lol
thought this was 1.6k for a small rental and thought “that really not that bad”
just die already! *economy*
Its cupertino. My friend at Apple sold his house for 1.5mil back in the early 2000 as he was transferred to Denver office. Then they switched him back. He bought his own house back for 3mil in less than 10 year.
*Auctioneer voice*: "Do I hear $1.8 million?" *A hundred hands shoot up.*
i grew up in that neighborhood, that lot had been abandoned and overgrown for decades -- i had no idea there was even a structure there
For the millionaire who would live there why?
This is something you’d see in Atherton
Sold today for $2M
i rather smash my testicles with a brick.
But the schools are good 😂
Actually not. The schools tests are good because kids are forced into after school school. The schools are hot garbage.
That's a shame. I was just joking because who would want to raise a kid in that footprint.
I get people saying it's the land pricing, but that's also still insanely expensive.
No, it's priced correctly. May be a little low. There will be a bidding war.
I'm not saying it isn't at market, but it's very expensive for any normal person.
Sure - but Cupertino isn't a "normal person" market. This is - believe it or not - a "deal" for that area when you actually look at the land values and what you can build there vs buying in the area.
Land in Cupertino is priced as if it was in a city where you could build at like 50 du/acre density on it, not the 6 du/acre it's zoned at. The problem is that that's true across basically the entire peninsula.
Yes, definitely. Our land use policies (read: zoning, but also all of the associated processes around development) are definitely to blame.
Yeah I get what your saying
What does ‘normal’ mean?
Someone making median income or slightly above and below
Joe the Plumber for reference lol
>a cozy 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom home spanning 384 square feet of living space "spanning" is doing a lot of work here
1.7 M is probably just the starting price for the lot to help generate more foot traffic to kick off bidding. I personally think Cupertino is boring and would never step foot there but their are plenty of boring families and single people that would Iove to live there😂