The cheapest house in the world? Michigan real estate agent takes gamble by listing fixer-upper for $1 on Zillow – complete with hole in the floor – before it’s snapped up eight days later for $52,000
A dilapidated home that was listed for $1 and billed as “the cheapest in the world” has sold for $52,000 in Michigan.
The owner of the two-bedroom fixer-upper in Pontiac, Mary Blair, 64, accepted a cash offer on Wednesday.
It sold quickly despite photos on Zillow of a dilapidated interior and descriptions of a “floor hole” and an abundance of weeds and “bugs.”
The quirky listing garnered millions of attention, with more than 140 offers pouring in from across the US and abroad.
The house with its overgrown bushes and “exotic weeds” eventually sold for $52,000
Real estate agent Chris Hubel says the $1 trick worked so well he’ll try it again at other homes
One potential buyer offered just 27 cents for the viral sensation.
Others went as high as $50,000 — about the market value for a dilapidated house on the very outskirts of Detroit.
The owner, Mary Blair, 64, said she was happy with the final prize.
“I was afraid I’d have to sell it for a dollar, but luckily I didn’t,” Blair told The Washington Post.
“I just didn’t expect it to get this big.”
Broker Chris Hubel, of Good Company Realty in Royal Oak, came up with the “off the wall” price of $1.
Blair has been trading and renting real estate in Pontiac for decades and has previously worked with Hubel.
The home came with an “avant-garde floor art installation” that “gives an authentic, unfiltered look into the crawlspace.”
The ad titled “World’s Cheapest Home” clearly showed chipped paint and dirt-covered floors
The exterior of the house looks weathered and unkempt, with an overgrown lawn and out-of-control bushes
The low price had a catch, including a faulty roof and unfinished walls
She wasn’t sure about the low price, but agreed to “let him run with it,” she said.
She became the owner of the East Ypsilanti Avenue property in 2004, when it was valued at $32,000.
It was on the market for about $10,000 in 2011, during the financial crisis, but no one bought it.
The building has been empty during the period.
One day after the house went on the market, the ad was shared by the social media account Zillow Gone Wild, which promotes unusual sales.
Within minutes, Hubel had received dozens of phone and text inquiries, and offers worth tens of thousands of dollars.
Bids went up after DailyMail.com and other news outlets shared the story.
The two-bedroom, one-bathroom house in Pontiac, Michigan, is a real fixer-upper, where buyers can “unleash their inner DIY guru.”
“Whether you dream of glory or take on a lucrative leasing venture, the potential of this home is as limitless as your imagination,” the ad reads.
Hubel said the advantageous $1 listing was an “experiment” to test the markets.
“My whole idea here is that when you price a house below market value, it will almost always find its true market value,” he told the Post.
But, he added, the global bidding competition helped.
“I think it increased the value for the local buyers because there was so much competition and because they were competing with people all over the world,” Hubel said.
He plans to use the $1 real estate listing strategy again.
The winning bid came from Saida Garcia, a 26-year-old Pontiac resident whose family flips and resells homes.
Initially, she thought the viral sensation would attract too many buyers, but went to check it out on Monday anyway.
The bathroom looked dingy, but the ad said ‘the home’s potential is as limitless as your imagination’
Some rooms appeared unfinished due to the walls with exposed wood frames and cork insulation
The ad listed the home’s potential as “a journey full of twists and turns”
“Let’s talk about the unique features that make this place stand out, like the avant-garde ‘floor hole’ art installation conveniently located next to the oven,” the ad read.
Despite the chipped paintwork, she said it has “a lot of potential.”
She plans to landscape the backyard, add a dining area and resell the renovated home early next year.
The original entry was clear about the drawbacks of the 5,227-square-foot, two-bedroom, one-bathroom home built in 1956.
It humorously suggested that buyers could “unleash their inner DIY guru” to turn it into a masterpiece that even Chip and Joanna Gaines could envy.
“Priced at a mind-boggling $1 (yes, you read that right), this home isn’t just any home — it’s a ticket to the real estate adventure of a lifetime,” the ad read.
The house offers a unique opportunity for those willing to embark on an exciting real estate adventure
The home, originally built in 1956, previously sold in February 2022 for $4,092 and in 2004 for its asking price of $32,400.
The house is located at 70 E Ypsilanti Ave, Pontiac, Michigan and is for sale for $1
“Step in and experience the thrilling roller coaster of emotions as you discover every nook and cranny begging for your creative touch.”
The outside of the house looked weathered and unkempt, with an overgrown lawn and out-of-control bushes.
“The roof may have seen better days, but yeah, it’s not leaking yet. It just keeps you on your toes and provides an unexpected shower of excitement when you least expect it,” the ad read.
“Who needs a traditional open concept layout when you can have an open floor plan thanks to an authentic, unfiltered view of the crawlspace?” it added.
The median home price in Pontiac, a city about 30 miles from Detroit, was $144.7K last month, representing an annual increase of 16 percent.