My Uncle in-law sold his house a couple months ago in Santa Clara (right next to Levi's stadium) and was asking for $1.2MM hoping to actually get 1.3 for it (a problem unto itself..). They took a $1.5MM offer (from about 5 other similar offers) from a young couple who both worked at Uber and also got significant help from parents. Wasn't all cash but I believe they put down like $500k. So it's not just tech but sometimes tech with the help from family.

And what an awful area. Oh it's clean and safe enough. But basically landfilled industrial parks (and Levi Stadium). I despise going to the Santa Clara Convention Center for events.

I agree, I lived next door to him for 5 years. The stadium, Great America, Ace/Amtrak train, and being in the direct flight path of San Jose airport made for quite a bit of noise. Every house in the neighborhood had double-pane windows for that reason.. Not to mention the occasional waft from the nearby wastewater facility makes me more than happy that I no longer live there.

Not really sure what the buying couple saw in the area. The house was really well-kept and updated but I feel there were other homes in much better surrounding neighborhoods for a similar price-point..

Probably close to 101 & 237 and within their budget. Most of Sunnyvale & Mountain View are in the $1.7-$2.3M range, and to get back below $1.5M, you either need to go south of Central Expressway or into a very old, non-renovated home in the middle of a subdivision. If you work along the 101 corridor that can easily add 20-30min to your commute.

Amazing. Would kill to see the respective employer(s) of each bidder. That would be fascinating. I still wonder how much developers and/or foreign buyers are in the mix, but I have a feeling that's not the dominating factor here.

I would bet that most aren't employed but own their own business(es).

I don't know, I mean, are there really that many employees who have ~$3m in cash?

I'm thinking of all the people who did/will make that much or more with each large-scale exit. How many 3+ millionaires will the combined exits of Airbnb, Uber, and Pinterest create? (Any of which could be in the next few years.) Easily more than a thousand, I would guess.