Imagine my surprise when I found a reasonably priced new house in the better part of Palo Alto, on a 10,000 square foot lot, yet! How could this be? Were they giving away the house?
Beds: 3
Baths: 2.5
Sq. Ft.: 1,666
$/Sq. Ft.: $840
Lot Size: 10,000 Sq. Ft.
Property Type: Detached Single Family
Style: Craftsman
Stories: 2
View: Neighborhood
Year Built: 2010
Community: Downtown
County: Santa Clara
MLS#: 81050352
Source: MLSListings
Status: Active
On Redfin: 14 days
1 of 3 brand new detached homes at Homer Place! Classic arts and crafts design in the tradition of Old Palo Alto. 2-3 blocks from Downtown Palo Alto.
What’s the catch? It’s certainly walking distance (2-3 blocks) to University Avenue, just like they said.
Although that lot looks like it’s kind of… full. Better take a close-up shot.
What the — there are three houses on one lot! But the listing above clearly said 10,000 square feet. And amazingly enough, the listings for 649 Homer and 653 Homer (pending without release) are also for 10,000 square feet! Is that what this “Homer Place” is referring to? And how come next-door multi-family property 643 Homer also sits on, what a coincidence, a 10,000 square foot lot shaped exactly the same!
This doesn’t look like a house built in 2010! What is going on here? Is Google using old Streetview photos again?
Take a look at the first picture again, in the listing above. Notice how on the right edge of the photo, there’s that bit of somebody’ else’s house? Now let’s have a look at 649 and 653 to see if they have that claustrophobic feel.
Oh, oh, this photo of 649 looks awfully familiar. Where have I seen it before?

So let’s move on to 653. Does it look the same too? Not quite. But I have the same sense that the photographer couldn’t comfortably turn around. You’d have to do the same if you plunked down three houses on a 50 x 200 foot lot.
How can I tell that these Single Family Residences (SFRs) were wedged in using a shoehorn, or maybe some Tokyo subway car professional shovers? Because the listing agent didn’t bother showing us any actual land. Instead, they proudly display… the deck.
Oooh yeah, going to water my own lawn here. Provided I keep it in a planter box on the deck.
You don’t have to check the deck views out at the other two houses. They’re all exactly the same, as is every single photo except the different exterior between 651 and 653. After all, does it matter which one you buy? Probably not, except 651 is the bargain at $1.39M. 653 (pending without release) goes up to $1.49M and 649 is in the snooty part of the lot, with an ask of $1.59M. I can’t figure out if that means it’s up front on Homer, next to the crappy buildings all around, or if it means it’s in the back, down a narrow driveway nobody is allowed to park on.
649 was the original property address, and the original lot sold for $1,495,000 in February 2006. But great news! That apartment next door was sold this year. Maybe the buyer will tear down the 1961 eyesore and build three more houses exactly like these! Then each of the six houses will be on a 20,000 sf lot.
Remember, they may not be making any more land, but they can sell the same lot to as many different houses as it takes.