Former San Francisco ‘Earthquake Shack’ Is Now a $900K Home—Would You Buy It?

Buyer, dream big! A 611-square-foot home with an intriguing backstory recently hit the market for $898,000.

The one-bedroom, one-bathroom cottage in San Francisco was built it 1907 and is said to be one of the original “earthquake shacks” built by the city to house refugees of the devastating 1906 earthquake.

In the aftermath of the quake, the city built 5,300 small, rent-to-own cottages for those who needed housing. After paying off a new home, the owners were required to move their cottages away from the refugee camp to another part of the city. A handful of those dwellings, including this charmer, still exist today.

“Originally, it was down in the Glen Park valley and moved up to Congo Street sometime when building [after the fire] started up again,” says listing agent Paul J. Andreini. “No documentation exists, and it may be folklore, but that’s what [the seller] told me.”

The seller, who Andreini refers to as “Mr. G,” purchased the home in 1959 for $800 and has since used it as a rental space.

The modest residence comes with refinished hardwood floors, central heating, a basement laundry room, and an adjacent yard.

A petite pad with potential?

We’ve seen our fair share of diminutive dwellings with eye-popping price tags—especially in the City by the Bay. This 640-square-foot home, also an original “earthquake shack,” was offered at $1.38 million and sold for just shy of $1.5 million. And who can forget the teardown shack that was listed back in 2015 for $350,000 (a bargain by San Francisco standards!) and most recently sold for $622,000?

Even so, it’s impossible to look at this current listing and the price per square foot (which is $1,470, by the way) and not roll your eyes. But, as is the case with many unique properties, it’s still worth considering what could be.

“People and agents get caught up in the price per square foot—they don’t see the potential,” says Andreini, who suggests buying the property for $900K and investing another $800K into a remodel.

One idea Andreini shares is to relocate the 611-square-foot structure to the property’s backyard and use it as an ADU, then build a contemporary dwelling in front. Another possibility is to leave the cottage as the third-level primary en suite and build a two-floor expansion on the rest of the lot.

Of course, as fun as it is to “play architect,” Andreini urges buyers to do their homework.

“Buyers must first do their due diligence before making an offer, if they’re planning to get creative,” Andreini wrote in a concept drawing he shared with us. “We recommend talking to a local architect, one familiar with the San Francisco Planning Department.”

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