A tiny 330-square-foot home in California recently sold for over $1 million

a wooden home with a red door and blue bench — The 114 Mountain View Ave tiny home in Santa Cruz, California.
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A tiny home in Santa Cruz, California about 1.5 hours from San Francisco sold for over $1 million.
Its previous owners purchased the home for $250,000 in 1999.
Tiny homes have recently become popular, but this home's buyers were more interested in its charm.

It's no secret real estate prices have been sky-high throughout 2021.

the entry of the home with a blue bench and red doorway — The 114 Mountain View Ave tiny home in Santa Cruz, California.
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So it should be no surprise that a home in Santa Cruz, California — a coastal city a little over an hour away from San Francisco — sold for over $1 million in late-October.

an empty room with entrance into the deck — A room inside the 114 Mountain View Ave tiny home in Santa Cruz, California.
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But this "vintage bungalow" — as the home is listed on Realtor.com — isn't your typical three-bedroom, two-bathroom family home you might expect from a million-dollar property in northern California.

an empty bedroom with exposed wooden beams — A room in the 114 Mountain View Ave tiny home in Santa Cruz, California.
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Source: Realtor.com

Instead, the $1,025,000 114 Mountain View Ave house is literally a tiny home: It stands at a whopping 328 square-feet.

On the bright side, the home sits atop a 3,833-square-foot lot.

We've seen tiny homes that range from a $21,000 smart unit (shown below) to a $129,000 home on wheels.

Legend One tiny home by Nestron — The Legend One by Nestron.
Nestron

Source: Insider, Insider

And in early November, a roughly 250-square-foot home in a wealthy suburb outside of Boston sold for $315,000, well under its $450,000 asking price.

A photo of the exterior of the 250-square-foot home in Newton, Massachusetts.
Google Maps

Source: Insider

But unlike the tiny home in Massachusetts, this Santa Cruz property sold for well above its original $988,000 listing price, the listing agent Walter Stauss told Insider.

an empty bathroom with a window — A bathroom inside the 114 Mountain View Ave tiny home in Santa Cruz, California.
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The home — built in 1948 — last sold for $250,000 in 1999. Before that, the previous owners purchased the home in 1986 and 1983 for $116,000 and $80,000, respectively.

an empty kitchen with countertop, stove, refrigerator, and window — The kitchen in the 114 Mountain View Ave tiny home in Santa Cruz, California.
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Source: Realtor.com

If you're wondering how such a small home could have sold for such a hefty million-dollar price, just take a look at the housing market in the US.

the walkway leading up to the home from the street — The 114 Mountain View Ave tiny home in Santa Cruz, California.
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The market has been on fire throughout 2021 as demand continues to outpace supply.

A home in Edina, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis, in July 2014. Lee Anderson and William Fehrenbach are moving to a downtown Minneapolis condo. — A Minneapolis home.
Bruce Bisping/Star Tribune via Getty Images

Source: Insider

The median sale price of homes in the US has jumped roughly 20% over the last year, and looking ahead, Goldman Sachs predicts this price could continue to shoot up another 16% in 2022.

Home for sale sign housing market — "For Sale" signs are seen outside a home in Glenview, Ill., Tuesday, July 27, 2021.
Nam Y. Huh/AP Photo

Source: Insider

Santa Cruz, California isn't immune to this increase in housing prices: the cost of homes in the coastal city has already surged 32.9% since 2020, according to data from GoBankingRates.

Home for sale — People wait to visit a house for sale in Floral Park, Nassau County, New York, the United States, on Sept. 6, 2020.
Wang Ying/Xinhua/Getty

Source: GoBankingRates

And the tiny home is located in Santa Cruz's already expensive Seabright neighborhood, a nice stroll away from restaurants, downtown, a boardwalk, and the ocean.

the exterior of the home surrounded by trees — The 114 Mountain View Ave tiny home in Santa Cruz, California.
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According to Realtor.com, the median sale price of houses in the neighborhood is around $1,260,000, making this tiny unit cheaper (and likely smaller) than most homes nearby.

Tiny homes have been all the rage during the COVID-19 pandemic, but Stauss doesn't peg the house's high price to this little living trend.

a wooden deck with light wood rails — The deck in the 114 Mountain View Ave tiny home in Santa Cruz, California.
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In fact, the listing never made a big fuss over its trendy size.

an empty kitchen with countertop, stove, and window — The kitchen in the 114 Mountain View Ave tiny home in Santa Cruz, California.
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Instead, the final buyers — who made a cash offer that beat out five other bids, Tessa McLean reported for SFGate — were attracted to the home's non-cookie cutter "charm," according to Strauss.

Source: SFGate

Let's take a look around 114 Mountain View Ave to see how the tiny home managed to appeal to several buyers with deep pockets. Just be prepared for a short tour — the house isn't exactly giant.

Source: Realtor.com

The property has a bedroom, kitchen, living room, and deck that looks out over the backyard and its shed.

There's also a garage-turned-room and bathroom, but this space isn't included in the listed 328 square feet.

a bathroom with a titled countertop and bathtub — A bathroom in the 114 Mountain View Ave tiny home in Santa Cruz, California.
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The home may be small, but it has all the minimum amenities, plus a sizable backyard.

a backyard surrounded by trees with a shed — The backyard in the 114 Mountain View Ave tiny home in Santa Cruz, California.
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The kitchen has an oven with a gas range, sink, refrigerator, and plenty of counter space and storage.

There's no separate dining room, but the living room can double as a dining space.

The two bathrooms both have the basics, like a place to shower, a toilet, a mirror, and a sink.

And the main home's living room and bedroom both have entrances to the deck, which is perfect for entertaining guests during a sunny California summer afternoon.