Exclusive | A Bay area buyer paid nearly double for this unassuming home just to skip a bidding war

One Bay Area house hunter wanted to skip a bidding war so badly that they offered almost twice the asking price.A buyer shelled out about $2.05 million for a 1906 Craftsman in Berkeley, a jaw-dropping 87% more than its $1.095 million price tag, after lobbing in an early offer that cut the rest of the field out of the running, The Post has learned.The house at 2129 Roosevelt Ave.

came to market Sept.2 and was off the table four days later, according to listing agent Jodi Nishimura of Kai Real Estate.

The markup alone comes to almost $1 million.The home offers three bedrooms, two baths and occupies 1,490 square feet with an oversized 6,500 square feet lot.“The home was on fire from the start,” Nishimura told The Post.

“The broker’s tour was extremely busy, so I knew pretty quickly that we had a hot property.What I wasn’t anticipating was receiving a preemptive offer.”Agents packed the preview so tightly that a queue formed outside.“The broker’s tour was so busy that, at one point, people were actually lining up to get through the front door,” she said.A few wanted the disclosure packet before it was even finished.“As soon as I sent them out, agents started reviewing them, and then late that same night, a surprise offer came in,” Nishimura said.Then came a plot twist.

The owner, who lives on the East Coast, had just been knocked over by her dog and broken her kneecap.“She was in the emergency room and then in surgery, so between the time difference, her surgery, and her recovery, there wasn’t an immediate acceptance,” Nishimura said.So the weekend showings went ahead as planned, pulling in upward of 200 house hunters. Once the seller signed off, the would-be rivals were out of luck.Nishimura said she “received a lot of calls and texts from agents who were disappointed to see that the property was already pending.”Berkeley is no stranger to runaway prices.

Sellers there routinely list low to whip up competition, and Zillow’s most ...