San Francisco's housing crisis is so dire that one of the cheapest homes in the city is a 'fixer' that sold for $600,000. Take a look inside.

• A 480-square-foot home in San Francisco was sold in December for $US600,000, making it one of the cheapest homes listed in the city’s overheated real-estate market.
• The home at 66 Bishop St. is nothing glamorous. It was advertised as a “fixer,” inviting developers and contractors to swoop in to renovate.
• Still, in a region whose housing market is bursting at the seams in part because of Silicon Valley’s ever-growing tech bubble, it sold quickly, after just a couple of months on the market.

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The 480-square-foot pink home at 66 Bishop St. in San Francisco is one of the smallest in the city. It’s also, with its whopping $US600,000 price tag, one of the cheapest, SFGate reported.

The home sold in late December after two months on the market and a $US50,000 price cut. It was advertised as a “fixer,” meaning whoever bought it basically paid over half a million dollars for the listing’s location and space – it’s on a 2,500-square-foot lot and could expand to 3,500 square feet of living space.

But in one of the most competitive real-estate markets in the country, stoked by Silicon Valley’s ever-growing tech sphere, house hunters can’t afford to be picky.

Take a look at what $US600,000 bought the house’s new owners.

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San Francisco and the surrounding Silicon Valley region is swarming with big tech companies.

Read more:
San Francisco’s tech boom is so expansive that the city’s median home price rose by $US205,000 in the first half of 2018, one of the biggest swells in its history

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Tech workers from around the world flock to the Bay Area for jobs in the industry.

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The influx of tech recruits has only exacerbated the city’s housing crisis.

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Home prices have skyrocketed in recent years as demand has outweighed supply.

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Even properties in less-than-perfect condition come with high price tags …

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… like a home in San Jose, just south of the city, that was pillaged by a fire and will need to be demolished — and still sold for almost $US1 million.

Source: Business Insider

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The pink dwelling at 66 Bishop St., though not ravaged by a fire, is far from tip-top condition — and yet it just sold for $US600,000.

Source: Zillow

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The 480-square-foot home is in Visitacion Valley, an area of town known for its affordability.

Source: SFGate

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The median real-estate value in the neighbourhood is $US802,200, much more than the pink dwelling’s asking price.

Source: Zillow

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However, a few blocks away sits a 1,605-square-foot shanty valued at $US1 million that’s currently off the market, so the area isn’t exempt from million-dollar homes.

Source: Zillow

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For comparison, the median real-estate value in San Francisco overall is nearly $US1.4 million.

Source: Zillow

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Linda Ngo, the property’s realtor, told Business Insider that the Visitacion Valley neighbourhood is getting more attention these days.

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“There’s a shift of buyers looking into Visitacion Valley and Excelsior,” an adjacent neighbourhood, Ngo said.

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The pink home was sold in June for $US400,000, relisted in October for $US650,000, then relisted 10 days later to $US589,900. The listing was removed in November and officially sold in late December for $US600,000.

Source: Realtor, Zillow

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It’s toward the bottom of a hill on Bishop Street.

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The views from the street in front of the house are nice.

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The bottom part of the home is the garage.

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A staircase leads to the front door.

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There’s a small patio before the entrance.

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And through the front door …

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… is a spacious living room and kitchen.

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A grey wall accents the living room.

Source: Realtor

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And a window provides some natural light.

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The home is almost 100 years old — it was built in 1922.

Source: Zillow

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But you’d never guess that from the modern kitchen appliances and crisp white fixings.

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Ngo said that just in three days of the home being listed in October, she got “quite a few calls” from prospective buyers.

Source: Zillow

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On average, homes listed in Visitacion Valley spend 51 days on the market.

Source: Realtor

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Right off the living room is the bedroom.

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The room has two windows, so natural light is not in short supply.

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And there’s closet space in the corner.

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Its walls are also partially grey, though of course the home’s new owners could do away with any of these features.

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A small bathroom is just outside the bedroom off the kitchen.

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The second story, however, is the only livable space now.

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Per pending building plans, the property could be built out into a three-story home of up to 3,500 square feet.

Source: Linda Ngo

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According to the listing, it could “easily expand” to a two-bedroom, two-bathroom house.

Source: Linda Ngo

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But the house takes up only a third of the lot.

Source: SFGate

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Much of the 2,500-square-foot lot stretches behind the 480-square-foot home.

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Ngo said that 75% of the lot could be built out, per a conversation with the city’s planning department.

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That’s still a fairly large blank canvas to construct a custom home, especially by San Francisco standards.

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And the price was a rarity — Ngo said only a few homes on the market were listed at or below it.

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Not every home in the city comes with a view like this either.

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You can see over the rooftops of houses to the rolling hills in the area.

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However, the property is still a major fixer-upper, and renovations could cost multiple times the asking price.

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“You would have to find a buyer that is savvy with construction or knows someone who is,” Ngo said in October.

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Even with the prospect of extensive renovation, however, the listing sold quickly.

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