Cost of Buying Famous TV and Movie Homes

There are plenty of iconic homes for sale, and buyers will almost certainly pay for that pedigree.

But that premium is hard to quantify because some ultra-wealthy buyers are willing to pay almost anything to own a piece of pop culture, according to real estate experts.

“It’s like owning a Picasso” or a Faberge egg, said Tomer FriedmanLos Angeles real estate agent specializing in luxury and celebrity homes.

“You’re buying something super unique and super rare,” he said.

Recent notable listings include: Victorian-style home featured in the sitcom “Full House.” enter the market Thursday in San Francisco for $6.5 million. Last month Home Alone house — the brick estate where character Kevin McCallister is known to be bombed — is on the market for $5.25 million.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s first home in New York, a two-story loft in SoHo, also enter the market in May for $5.5 million. The Los Angeles home of the late Paul Reubens, best known for his character Pee-wee Herman, is also for saleapproximately 5 million dollars.

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Luxury property prices have recently reached record levels. The super-wealthy are largely protected from high mortgage rates because many can afford cash-only deals, real estate experts say.

Celebrity homes typically cost even more than their market equivalents, experts say.

Josh Altmana Los Angeles luxury real estate agent who appears on Bravo’s “Million Dollar Listing” estimates the premium can be 5% to 10% if the home is tied to a “household name” celebrity.

“It’s definitely a Hollywood trope: ‘I bought such and such a house,’” Altman said. Clients of his company turned on stars such as Justin Bieber, James Cameron, Alicia Keys and Britney Spears.

“Home Alone” is “one of the most famous films of all time,” he added. “It definitely gets a premium in my opinion.”

The final price of such homes usually doesn’t matter to their ultra-wealthy buyers, says Friedman, who has sold properties owned by celebrities, including Marilyn Monroe, Sylvester StalloneAnd Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott.

Many view the home as a collector’s item and make an “emotional purchase,” Friedman said.

Experts say sellers could receive a premium for a particular high-profile property due to the original asking price or if potential buyers engage in a bidding war.

“They’re one of a kind,” said Amanda Pendleton, a home trends expert at Zillow. “Some people with the means are willing to pay whatever it takes to own this home.”

The listing for the Home Alone property, located outside of Chicago, highlights its collectible status, highlighting “a rare opportunity to own one of the most iconic film residences in American pop culture.”

An offer on the home is pending and was made within a week of it being listed, said Andrea Gillespie, a spokeswoman for Coldwell Banker Real Estate. The sellers’ asking price is more than triple $1.585 million. they paid in 2012.

listing the residence of John Lennon and Yoko Ono – for the first time in 53 years – also highlights the fame of its former occupants.

“Any place where they lived will have some value,” says Philip Norman, author of the biography John Lennon: A Life. recently told New York Times.

Buyers of a Full House have the opportunity obtaining palm prints According to Architectural Digest, the show’s cast members, including Bob Saget and John Stamos, are in the concrete stones.

An infamy can also fetch a higher price, he said. Arto PoladianRedfin luxury real estate agent in Los Angeles.

In 2021 Poladian sold the so-called LaBianca house – the house where followers of Charles Manson killed Leno and Rosemary LaBianca in 1969 – for $1.875 million.

The property’s notoriety generated interest and attracted more potential buyers — “and ultimately, with that interest, you get a slightly higher premium than without it,” Poladian said.

listing was aimed at buyers such as “history buffs” or those who wanted to “add their own touches to reimagine one of Los Angeles’ most unique properties.”

Sometimes even being close to a famous residence can help, he added. For example, in 2018 he sold the house next door to the one where the original Karate Kid movie was filmed.

“Any type of famous house — or a house next to a famous house — will attract interest from potential buyers and viewers,” he said.

“Sometimes there is a ceiling on what superfans are willing to pay,” Pendleton said.

She cited The Brady Bunch house as an example: a house in Studio City, California, that was remodeled to look identical to the house from the TV series. sold for approximately $3.2 million in 2023 after several months on the market; it was listed for sale for $5.5 million.

Advertisements associated with some properties are likely “putting off” some potential buyers, Pendleton said.

Likewise, a superstar’s home won’t be worth as much unless it’s updated and move-in ready, Poladian says.

For example, Kanye West—the rapper who now goes by Ye—bought a mega-mansion in Malibu, California, for $57.3 million in 2021. However, he struggled to sell the house, which he had gutted and left in poor condition; Last year he listed the house for $53 million, but recently lowered the price to $39 million. (The contractor also sued West in January and a lien was placed on the property, potentially making sales more difficult.)

“Kanye West can’t give away his Malibu house,” said Altman, a Los Angeles real estate agent.

Ultimately, however, the value of a home—whether it’s a sprawling, iconic estate or a run-of-the-mill bungalow—is in the eye of the beholder.

“At the end of the day, a home is worth what a person is willing to pay for it,” Pendleton said.