In What City Can a ‘Shack’ Fetch $400,000?

The classic real-estate adage — “location, location, location” — has perhaps never been more applicable.

San Francisco, among the most expensive real-estate markets in the nation, is the place in which a veritable shack recently sold for $408,000.

That was the case this week for 16 De Long St. in San Francisco’s Outer Mission neighborhood.

The property is a 765-square-foot home that’s more than 100 years old. It’s sided with washed-out wood, and its windows are boarded up or covered with security grates.

“In need of work. Contractor special,” reads the listing on the National Association of Realtors’ website.

Still, it sold for well over the listed price of $350,000 after 10 days on the market, the seller’s real estate agent tells MarketWatch.

Brian Tran of Vanguard Properties says the buyer plans to keep the structure intact and remodel it:

“We keep an eye out for distressed homes, but this one went above and beyond. …

“I am very excited to see how the (buyer’s) project will turn out.”

The one-story home, built in 1906 and dwarfed by the modern-day two-story houses that stand beside it, is believed to be a so-called earthquake shack, MarketWatch reports.

About 5,000 tiny houses like it were built after the 1906 earthquake and resulting fire that leveled 500 square blocks of the coastal city, leaving more than half of its 400,000 residents homeless.

This year alone, San Francisco has been recognized as:

• The hottest housing market by real estate website Trulia.
• The worst city for renters by Forbes magazine.
• The most expensive city for renters by the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

Do you think a tiny two-bedroom, one-bathroom home is worth more than $400,000 because it’s in San Francisco? Sound off in our Forums. It’s the place where you can speak your mind, explore topics in-depth, and post questions and get answers.