In an unsettling distillation of the broader housing market, the lot's price rose by $2.3 million in under two years.
The Sacramento Bee reports that a quarter-acre residential lot in Palo Alto is expected to sell for $5,390,000.
In 2016, the lot was valued at just $78,600. But it sold for $3.1 million that May, and again for $3.9 million in September. Now, citing high demand in the wealthy city for buyers seeking to build a custom home, the county assessor deems the lot's new asking price "fair."
Not for the first time, Palo Alto's exorbitant prices are being called a microcosm of the housing crisis. Median home prices peaked in the city in 2017, having doubled in some neighborhoods since 2004. Today, "even software engineers" are feeling the impact, the Bee says.
Read the full story: A real fixer-upper: How an empty lot in Palo Alto could sell for nearly $5.5 million
How Mobile Homes Fill a 'Critical Gap' in Affordable Housing
Cities across America have a housing crisis on their hands—should they be talking more about trailer parks?
Palo Alto Expands Church ‘Safe Parking’ Program
The city is considering adding commercial lots to the program, which provides safe parking and amenities for people living in cars.
Housing Out of Reach as Costs and Mortgage Rates Rise
The monthly costs—mortgage payments, property taxes, and insurance—of a typical low-end home in the Boston region has reached $3,600 a month. A typical home costs $5,000 a month.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Chicago breaks ground on $3 billion megadevelopment
The new neighborhood, titled Foundry Park, will one day host 3,700 residences.
Satanic Place Names
From streams and lakes to valleys and canyons, I mapped more than 1,000 places named after the Devil.
California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO resigns after $600,000 scandal
Under Ian Choudri, the authority used taxpayer dollars to fund first class flights and trips to nightclubs.
Want to study the Missouri River? Soon, you may need unanimous approval from 10 states
Legislation would require 10 governors’ permission to study or build projects moving water outside the basin.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority