Bay Area residents are used to seeing luxury homes listed for millions of dollars, but even they were floored by a recent home listing.
An uninhabitable fixer-upper in affluent Palo Alto priced at $2 million has become a viral sensation, leaving people worldwide scratching their heads.
The listing, for a dilapidated 1950s-era home, includes green shag carpeting, wood-paneled walls and outdated floral wallpaper. Olivia McNally of McNally and Associates, the listing agent, showcased the run-down property in a cheeky video set to Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso.”
McNally posted the video, titled “What $2M gets you in Palo Alto, CA,” on her Instagram two weeks ago. Since then, it’s blown up, racking up more than 12 million views, 220,000 shares, and nearly 50,000 comments. It’s been reposted countless times, serving as Exhibit A for the absurdity of the Bay Area housing market.
“I understand why people elsewhere might think, ‘Oh my gosh, I could buy a mansion for $2 million in my hometown,’” McNally told the San Francisco Chronicle. “We’re in such a bubble here. We’re in this 1 percent of the world doing real estate differently.”
The $2 million “gem” at 604 Chimalus Dr. sits in Palo Alto’s posh Barron Park neighborhood. Even though the 1950s house is uninhabitable, it’s on a quiet cul-de-sac, has three bedrooms, one bathroom and a detached two-car garage on a 5,300-square-foot lot.
“You’re living among $4 to $5 million homes,” McNally told the outlet. “The neighborhood is incredibly beautiful, surrounded by walking paths, creeks, and parks. There are great schools. Many of the neighbors have been there for 40 years and never plan on moving.”
McNally revealed it’s one of only two original homes on the block that hasn’t been renovated or rebuilt.
“This is an emotional sale for my client,” McNally told the outlet. “Her father left this to her, and she had to make the difficult decision to sell it.”
If the current owners had flipped it before listing, McNally says it would be worth twice as much. That’s the reality in a region where the median sale price for a single-family home is $3.4 million, with tech moguls like Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg and Larry Page as neighbors.
The viral home tour, filmed on a whim by McNally’s assistant, has attracted not only critics but also potential buyers.
“My job as a listing agent is to get as many eyes on any property as possible,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a $500,000 condo or a $50 million estate … My job is to share a story. My job is to sell the house.”
And sell it did. The home received 10 offers — eight over the asking price. A sale is pending, with an anticipated 20-day closing date.
McNally and her husband even considered buying it. “From an investment standpoint, it’s great for a family who can’t afford a $5 million mortgage,” she said. “You want the ugly duckling in the nice neighborhood.”
