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Burned Out Mountain View Home On The Market For $1.48 Million

MOUNTAIN VIEW (CBS SF) -- Call it a hot new trend in Bay Area real estate -- buyers snapping up burned-out and condemned properties for prices that could buy a mansion in most places.

Earlier this week it was a condemned home in Fremont that was bought in a bidding war for $1.23 million.

Now, it's a burned out home in Mountain View, destroyed in a fire 2 1/2 years ago, that's on the market for $1.48 million. We're not talking about a flip or major remodel. The real estate advertisement even warns potential buyers to "enter at your own risk."

"It's not salvageable," said Karl Mackela who lives nearby. "It's just a piece of land that they're going to pay. It's not even a big piece of land."

The charred remains of the home are located in the Monta Loma neighborhood -- a group of houses nestled on the border of Mountain View and Palo Alto. It's a neighborhood full of long slung mid-century modern homes built in the 1950s and 1960s.

"My father bought the house for $16,000 back in 1955," Mackela said.

Mackela says there is little doubt why real estate prices are soaring in his neighborhood.

"We all say it's Google and big companies like that," he said.

Mackela raised his sons in the neighborhood, but believes the family legacy will likely end there.

"We love this neighborhood," he said. "We love growing up here, but we're not sure if our kids will be able to afford to live in this neighborhood."

Mackela has already received unsolicited offers for his own home.

"I'm excited that it's constantly raising the value of my home," he said. "But I don't plan on moving or selling either."

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