Virtual Homes Selling Out in San Francisco,
Ebay and Paypal in on New Boom

By Paul Springer
Owners of coveted Bay Area homes recently started taking advantage of another internet phenomenon: the virtual home sale. While prices in the area seem to have leveled out (see sample listings), the price plateau is so stratospheric that many would-be home purchasers are settling for a pretty picture.

Even the illusion of home ownership is quite expensive, and obtaining the rights to virtual ownership presents many obstacles in addition to financial ones. Bidding wars are rampant, and the virtual process gives sellers much opportunity to discriminate against undesirable virtual neighbors. As one African-American home seeker put it, "Some of these folks would rather die than have a person of color Photoshopped into an image of their living room. And the bedroom-you can just forget about that."

Many buyers recoiled from the idea of purchasing images of a home they would never actually live in, but others were pleased about avoiding relocation and remodeling costs. Virtual homes are available worldwide through Ebay, and PayPal now offers a virtual title service to ensure that buyers don't have to worry that someone else is putting tasteless furniture or gauche window treatments in their virtual abode.

Supplement: Bay Area Real Estate Listings

San Francisco:

Pacific Heights mansion, 9 bdrms., 13 baths. Broderick St. colonial w/Gladiator arena and slave quarters. Reduced to $28,000,000. Hurry!

Bay View Beauty, 1 bed room, al fresco bathroom. See the stars through your living room ceiling! Never been murdered in. $799,000. Deceased option available.

East Bay:

Richmond, 2 beds, 2 baths. Just minutes from Kaiser Hospital. Close to transportation and drive-bys. Comes with low-maintenance pets. Could end up a probate sale! $432,000.

Marin:

Larkspur 2 bedroom, 1 outhouse. Burndown special-owned by local cat & dog enthusiast. First time on market in 30 years. May have hardwood floors. $960,000.

Sausalito, 3/2. Sunken living room and everything else. Great potential for the right submariner/contractor. $1.2 mil.

Tiburon, 1 arena sized bedroom, 52 bathrooms. Built by chronically incontinent investment banker with Winchester Mystery House bathroom complex. Needs wiring, windows, drainage, foundation work. Unique aromatic valence. $23,500,000.

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