Keith Lance
- A San Jose home is the site of an "inactive meth lab and meth contamination," the listing reads.
- Priced at $1.55 million, it's the buyer's responsibility to get the home properly remediated.
- "If it's a meth lab, it shouldn't be listed at that price, not in that neighborhood," an agent said.
The housing market in San Jose, California, is so hot that even a former meth lab is asking well over $1 million.
A six-bedroom home is currently listed at $1.55 million, but the kicker is it's being sold as is — "inactive meth lab" and all, reads the listing description.
According to Redfin, San Jose has the most competitive housing market in the country, beating out neighboring cities like Sacramento and San Diego. That may explain why a home in need of remediation from meth contamination is still seeking such a high number.
"If it's a meth lab, it shouldn't be listed at that price, not in that neighborhood," California real-estate agent Diane LoVerde told Insider.
Zillow
The 2,743-square-foot house is in a great location, according to the listing, and sits on a 6,000-square-foot lot — although the inside is still a mystery as Santa Clara County has denied access to the property before it's cleared by the health department, the listing said.
Since the property is being sold as-is, it will require some work by its next owner. "Home has not been cleared of contamination and will be transferred to the new buyer in it's current state," the listing reads.
LoVerde, who is listing a home only an eight-minute walk away for $1.5 million, said that price is around the going rate for homes in the area. She agreed that the neighborhood is nice and desirable, but said at that steep of a price, the former meth lab likely won't sell.
"Someone might touch it under $1 million, but I don't think they're going to touch it over $1 million," she said, adding that recouping costs after a renovation would be unlikely.
Real Estate 38 owner Zaid Hanna told local news station KRON4 that he didn't believe that the home was worth the trouble.
"Somebody will have to come and rip out the flooring, the sheet rock, insulation," he told KRON4. "So you're looking at about two to three hundred thousand dollars to bring this back to where it needs to be."
According to Redfin, the median sales price for a home in San Jose is $1.37 million, so this house is asking for a lot, considering a serious renovation will most likely be necessary.
The home was last purchased in 2021 for $1.51 million, according to Zillow. It was listed in October 2023 for $1.43 million a few months after the previous owner was arrested in March according to KRON4, and, surprisingly, received a bump up to its current asking price.
Keller Williams Realty Silicon Valley listing agent Cindy Selleos could not be reached for comment.