Basic Sunnyvale home sells for $800k over asking (Lafayette, Orinda: apartment, lawyers)

[HockeyMac18]

Originally Posted by silverkris

That's probably true. The realtor on the deal, Dave Clark, is well known to price it under prevailing levels to get overbidding.

The old "start bidding low to get people invested in the process" trick. Like starting your Ebay bidding at 1 cent vs. the price the item is actually worth (either at a store or compared to other Ebay sales).

You often will get a higher end price this way, which always has seemed odd to me...but the human mind is a funny thing, and once people get invested in the bidding process, the competitiveness can overwhelm people (and often get them to go higher than they previously thought they would go).

[Chuck5000]

GIANT lot. Explains a lot. You can build a very large house there. To those who don't know, part of the deal in the Bay Area is not just expensive houses, but expensive, small houses on small lots.

[Finper]

you all are insane. That's just a typical ranch house!! They even bricked up the fireplace for some reason. The coolest part of the whole house is it looks like there's a redwood tree out front...

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by association

I'm curious as to what demographic you're referring to?

Chinese, Indian, Russian, maybe some others.

Probably easier to say who it's not. It's not the Anglo groups who tend (broad brush here) to put the lifestyle of the parents on par with or even ahead of schooling for the kids. Not the great room, surround sound, outdoor kitchen crowd.

[ssmaster]

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

Chinese, Indian, Russian, maybe some others.

Probably easier to say who it's not. It's not the Anglo groups who tend (broad brush here) to put the lifestyle of the parents on par with or even ahead of schooling for the kids. Not the great room, surround sound, outdoor kitchen crowd.

Lafayette has better rated schools and nicer housing stock than Sunnyvale and the students aren't having to deal with as much stress.

When I read about the high school suicide clusters in the South Bay I always think of lamorinda which has great schools and $2 million gets you a decent house.

living in a community where $2 million dollars gets you a 1200 square foot 3 bed /1 bath instills a lot of fear and stress that you are a failure unless you are on track to make at least $400,000 a year.
When those kids start seeing that bright shiny future slipping away it can get pretty ugly

[HockeyMac18]

Originally Posted by Chuck5000

GIANT lot. Explains a lot. You can build a very large house there. To those who don't know, part of the deal in the Bay Area is not just expensive houses, but expensive, small houses on small lots.

Yeah, there is that component. How does this price compare to other small houses on "large" lots around it?

[silverkris]

Originally Posted by ssmaster

Lafayette has better rated schools and nicer housing stock than Sunnyvale and the students aren't having to deal with as much stress.

When I read about the high school suicide clusters in the South Bay I always think of lamorinda which has great schools and $2 million gets you a decent house.

living in a community where $2 million dollars gets you a 1200 square foot 3 bed /1 bath instills a lot of fear and stress that you are a failure unless you are on track to make at least $400,000 a year.
When those kids start seeing that bright shiny future slipping away it can get pretty ugly

Well, Lamorinda isn't really convenient if you're in tech.

[Perma Bear]

Originally Posted by silverkris

Well, Lamorinda isn't really convenient if you're in tech.

If you have that much money you can buy a helicopter.

[fred9]

Mobile homes are still pretty cheap down there if you can pay cash and want to get into the public schools.
https://www.redfin.com/CA/Mountain-V...17/home/791766

[Chuck5000]

Amazing that people on this thread don't realize that those people who "cram" in earn enough to do massive remodels or tear-downs if not immediately, then in a few years. Yeah, they're just foreigners who "cram" and that's why prices are so high. God, the silliness.

This is precisely why lot size is a key attribute - it determines how much you can build.