8 Real Estate Fun Facts That Might Blow Your Mind

It’s been such a busy real estate season, but we always have time for a little web surfing to relax. Check out these crazy fun facts that we came across… The lighter side of real estate!

1.

Warren Buffet, one of the richest men in the world, never moved out of the modest house he bought for $31,500 in 1958. Take a tour:

2.

The most expensive home listing in the history of the East Bay is an English-style manor in Alamo for $39 million. 7 Country Oak Lane sits on nearly 21.5 acres and includes 10 bedrooms, 22 bathrooms, a European stone-lined wine cellar, 14-seat cinema, pool, outdoor kitchen with pizza oven, and a suspension bridge leading to a whimsical tree house. All proceeds will go to Maddie's Fund, a private charitable foundation that helps shelters become no-kill. Read more about it and other local “Wow Houses” here.

 

3.

Sellers must legally disclose if they believe their home is haunted in New York.

 

4.

62% of house hunters said they’d consider buying a haunted house, according to a Realtor.com survey.

5.

In 2005, a man started with one red paperclip and traded for bigger and better things until he got a house in Canada. It only took 14 trades!

6.

Real estate can be a superstitious business: (Cue the Stevie Wonder song.)

• 8 is considered lucky by many Chinese buyers because it sounds like the word for prosperous. (A few years ago, a Chinese developer bought an office building in Australia for the charmed price of $88,888,888.)
• 4 is considered unlucky in Chinese culture because it sounds like the word for death.
• 7 can be a draw for all types of good luck seekers, especially in Vegas real estate.
• 13 has such an unlucky connotation in the U.S. that the most superstitious buyers will back away from a property if any related numbers even add up to 13.

 

7.

How hot is the Bay Area real estate market? It’s so hot that more homebuyers are bidding on properties without seeing them in person, according to a Redfin-sponsored survey. Read more about it here.

8.

Mark Zuckerberg paid more than $30 million in 2013 to buy four houses next to his home in Palo Alto and leased them back to the families living there. Why? A bid for privacy (ironic for the founder of Facebook?) and to stave off future developers from marketing the properties as “next door to Mark Zuckerberg,” according to the Mercury News.

 

Hey, notice how we are ending on #8?

 

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Now we have something to tell people at cocktail parties! For more real estate fun facts, including how to sell or buy in the East Bay, contact us at 888-400-ABIO (2246) or [email protected].