Man buys cheapest livable home in Phoenix after bidding war

The cheapest livable home in Phoenix now has a new owner.

We first introduced viewers to the home, which is located seven minutes south of downtown Phoenix, in late June 2023. Since then, we have learned that a bidding war broke out for the small house, which was ultimately won by Luke Kelly.

"I've always wanted to invest," said Kelly, who bought the home for $228,000, which is over the listing price of $215,000. "It's always been important to me to have my own piece of land and stuff. Have somewhere to come back to."

Broker describes "cute little house"

Todd Lee, a broker with Berkshire Hathaway, previously described the property with functioning air condition as a "cute little house."

"It's been recently remodeled. It's got some vinyl plank flooring, it's got some granite-style counter tops. Nice, newer appliances in it," said Lee. "It's one bedroom, one bath, 580 square feet. So that's pretty much what you're going to get for that price range."

The home, located near 24th Avenue and Buckeye Road, was built in 1956. It has a 6,000-square-foot lot with a large fenced-in backyard.

"Three years ago, you could have found a single-family home in a neighborhood like this that was under $100,000, but with the migration we have here, the amount of people we have moving in, prices just keep raising," Lee said.

We asked Lee to find the most affordable single-family home in the Phoenix area. He found three for under $200,000, but they weren't livable.

"No, they were absolutely not livable," he said. "Some of them, the sheet rock was missing and the ceiling was missing. No cabinets in the kitchen, no toilets in the bathroom, just crazy things like that."

New owner speaks out

Kelly called the home ‘a steal.'

"It was kind of crazy that this much land was [at] that price," said Kelly, who saw our story on the home in June on our Instagram page.

Kelly, who has a job as a plumber, knew he wanted the home, even though many people scoffed at the home's size, as well as its location. Lee, however, said Kelly's home purchase was a savvy move.

"Whether you say it's a non-desirable neighborhood, whatever, he's got a house. He owns a piece of property. He can always rent it out," said Lee.

As of now, Kelly is busy improving the home with a block wall, and he plans to add on to the house.