Quirky Alhambra bridge house sells for $430,000 — $180,000 over asking price

After a frenzied bidding war, a quirky house built on a bridge over a concrete drainage channel in Alhambra has sold for $180,000 over the asking price in what still may be considered a bargain in Southern California’s pricey real estate market.

The unusual location of the house and its comparatively modest $250,000 asking price drew national attention and hundreds of visitors when it hit the market a few weeks ago. Most of the visitors were looky-loos who wanted to get a peek at the small home someone built in 1949 into the side of a bridge owned by the city overlooking the Alhambra Wash.

“This was definitely a unique property, no doubt about it,� said real estate agent Douglas Lee of Compass, who had the listing. “I have never come across anything like this.�

People were enthralled by what TV tabloid show “Inside Edition� called “the troll house� for its bridge location — more than 155,000 have viewed the show segment about the home posted on YouTube.

Lee declined to identify the buyer who came up with the top bid of $430,000, but Lee said he is a retired Rosemead High School teacher.

The 450-square-foot dwelling on the 1300 block of East Main Street has a terrace that looks over the wash and a rooftop patio that sits next to a road bridge, separated only by a fence. It’s within walking distance of a Vietnamese restaurant and a hair salon but has no designated parking spot.

The house is a one-bedroom, one-bath fixer-upper that once belonged to the parents of one of Lee’s high school friends. Lee said his friend’s parents purchased the home in 2005 for about $72,000. Their plan was to use it as a swanky “man cave,� Lee said, but it sat vacant for nearly two decades according to KTLA5.

The average one-bedroom home in the Alhambra neighborhood costs about $350,000, while the median sale price for an existing single-family house in Southern California is about $785,000.

Times staff writer Noah Goldberg contributed to this story.