Bay Area housing market so wild that ‘murder house’ sells for $2.1 million

A Santa Clara home where a Google software engineer is accused of viciously beating his wife to death in January has sold for $2.1 million, according to sales records.

On Jan. 16, police found Xuanyi Yu, who was also a Google employee, dead inside the home after they received a call from a concerned friend who said that neither Yu nor her husband Liren Chen were answering their phones or the door. The friend said he could see that Chen was inside the house, “motionless on his knees, had his hands in the air and was staring blankly.”

When they entered the home, police found Chen, 27, covered in blood, with Yu dead on their bedroom floor with severe blunt force injuries to her head. Chen has been charged with murder, and remains in custody.

The home’s listing neglected to mention the alleged murder that took place there, instead focusing on details like the “fairy tale-esque high pitched roof” and “charming exterior.”

“Move-in ready and ideally located in the heart of Santa Clara, this home is conveniently close to everything. Cycle to Apple Park in minutes!” the listing read.

Sylvia Tian, the listing agent, said by selling the home, the families of both Yu and Chen can avoid financial ruin in the “aftermath” of the alleged murder.

“The family is in China, and they have no power to pay for that mortgage,” Tian said. The home would have fallen into foreclosure if it weren’t sold, she added.

Getting a new family into the home also benefits the neighborhood. The buyers, Tian said, did not want to be identified.

“An empty house is bad for everybody,” Tian said, adding that the home had already been robbed twice while unoccupied.

Yu and Chen had lived in the four-bedroom, two-bathroom home for a little less than a year, after they bought it for $2.05 million in April 2023 — meaning its value appreciated by 3.4%.

Listed in May, the home spent just nine days on the market before fetching an offer. The sale took nearly three months to close — much longer than the typical 30 days — as Tian had limited access to Chen, who remains held without bail at the Santa Clara County jail.

“To sell the property and get back some of the loss for the family is helping everybody,” Tian said.