Ballard home
This boarded up house in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood was built in 1901 and likely won’t live to see 2018. (NWMLS Photo)

We’ve seen plenty of houses with actual windows and bedrooms sell for way more than they’re worth in the real estate madness that has gripped Seattle in recent years. But a boarded-up 1901 looker in the city’s Ballard neighborhood might just define how crazy things have gotten.

Listed as a “hot home” by the Seattle-based real estate company Redfin, the 1 1/2 story, no-bedroom house on 11th Avenue NW is going for $595,000, and Redfin’s site estimates it will get $626,331. These days, that seems like a steal in a tech-boom-fueled market that is the hottest in the country.

It’s been online for five days, but the house has sat empty for years. I remember walking past it in February 2015 and snapping a picture, figuring it wouldn’t be standing for long in a neighborhood and city where old houses go to die.

Ballard home
The same house almost three years ago when the plywood on the windows was fresher and the grass had been mowed. (GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser)

Sure enough, the listing screams “builder alert!” and calls the site an “excellent development opportunity” thanks largely to its prime neighborhood location and the fact that it sits on a 6,420-square-foot level lot.

A 20-percent down payment will run you $119,000. Redfin says offers are being reviewed today.

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