$14.5 million may sound like enough to buy a mansion, but in the Crescent Park neighborhood of Palo Alto, it got 2,600 square feet on less than four-tenths of an acre. But when the house is just behind and to the side of Zuckerberg's house, it's apparently worth a lot more than it seems.
Alex Comsa is the real estate person who helped unravel the mystery of so why the cluster of four homes have sold for so much more than their values.
"It's nice to have someone like Mark living next door because these guys hit the jackpot," Comsa said.
It began when an investment group linked to Zuckerberg bought the house next door. Then the word got out that the social network king wanted a little privacy.
Homes in the neighborhood had previously been valued in the $3.5 million range.
In all, the San Jose Mercury News reports Zuckerberg spent more than $30 million for the four homes. But he doesn't plan on building a mega-mansion; he reportedly started buying up the properties when he heard a developer was planning on buying one of the homes next to his.
Nothing beats adding a few front yards, to your back one.
