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Silicon Valley Teardown Sells For $2 Million In Just One Day

SAN JOSE (KPIX 5) -- A teardown in Cupertino was snapped up in less than a day. For $2 million.

It's the latest sign that competition for Bay Area housing is stiffer than ever.

A new report from Redfin shows the average price of a home in San Jose at over $1 million.

Up more than 19 percent from last year, that's the steepest price jump in the country.

The shrinking supply is leading to some outrageous asking prices and the Bay Area housing crisis seems to be going from bad to worse.

"This is a nice house. It's 73 years old. Apple is very close," said realtor Dave Clark.

He said there are some nice things about this Cupertino home, but its description as a teardown and it's listing price of $1.9 million surprised even him.

Clark, a realtor with Keller Williams said, "I've been in shock for years now and I can't get out of shock as to how much things cost and what people are paying for things. And it amazes me people have all this money and they can afford this."

It's got three bedrooms, one bath and 1,000 square feet. It sold in less than a day, probably for well over the asking price.

"It's routine in this area for houses to go $300k, $400k or even $500k over asking [price]," said Clark. "I think those prices are absurdly crazy."

George Prokop lives across the street from the home.

"I thing that those prices are absurdly crazy," he said.

While he likes the price increases, he says these prices are driving up his taxes.

"For this much money, who is going to be able to buy that?" Prokop asked.

"Only people who come somewhere from Asia with millions of dollars, cash," Prokop said, answering his own question.

The home's proximity to tech jobs in Silicon Valley is only one of the factors that make it so expensive.

The other is demand.

The number of homes for sale throughout the valley is down sharply.

"This is about the lowest number of listings I've ever seen in my 30 years," Clark said. "There's just not enough houses for all the buyers out there."

And as crazy as the price may seem now, it will probably be worth much more in just a few years based on what Clark found when he looked up the home's price the previous time it sold.

"It also sold in 2010 for $908,000," he said. "So in seven years, the price went up by $1 million."

Another house on the same block is also on the market, for $2.1 million.

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