Celebrity homes are often of interest, but the Brady Bunch house is a celebrity home of a different sort — that is, a house that is also a celebrity in its own right.
The Brady Bunch began airing in 1969, and remained a staple of syndicated television in the decades following. Establishing shots of the Brady dwelling and years of replay ensured the iconic mid-century style Brady Bunch house was instantly recognizable to generations of viewers.
The Brady Bunch house might have cachet in terms of pop culture, but fame doesn’t always translate to fortune. The property was listed for sale in May with a relatively modest price tag of $5.5 million — and its place in television history wasn’t its only claim to fame.
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Home improvement and real estate-centric network HGTV purchased the Brady Bunch house in 2019, outbidding ‘NSYNC’s Lance Bass to acquire the famous home. In August 2018, Discovery Inc. CEO David Zaslav announced the acquisition on a call with investors, saying:
“I am excited to share that HGTV is the winning bidder and will restore the Brady Bunch home to its 1970s glory as only HGTV can.”
HGTV’s 2018 purchase of the Brady Bunch house was not without detractors. According to People, Bass was publicly frustrated by his failed attempt to purchase it (and by a shadowy bidder with big pockets):
“Bass shared that he was ‘heartbroken’ because he believed he had placed the winning bid on the home but was bought-out by a large corporation after rumors swirled that developers wanted to buy and demolish the house. Bass said his bid was ‘WAY over asking price, but was informed after the final deadline that there was another client who wanted to purchase the home.”
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HGTV didn’t disclose the 2018 sale price, but the house was listed at $1.885 million before it was sold. The network immediately announced plans to restore and renovate the property.
When HGTV eventually listed the “meticulously revamped” Brady Bunch house in May for $5.5 million, the network reaped the benefits of a newsworthy real estate transaction. Outlets and articles quoted the listing, boasting a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own one of the most iconic single-family residences in the world … [reportedly] the 2nd-most photographed home in the country, after the White House.”
If HGTV anticipated a 2018-style bidding war, that never came to pass. On September 12th, USA Today reported that the house had finally found its buyer — and that its “superfan” buyer found a bargain (in relative terms):
“The five-bedroom, five-bathroom home in North Hollywood, outside of Los Angeles, has been sold for $3.2 million to Tina Trahan, a superfan of the show and wife of former HBO chief executive Chris Albrecht.
“According to the Wall Street Journal, the sale is $2.3 million less than the $5.5 million asking price by HGTV when the home went on the market in May. The network bought the property in 2019 for $3.5 million and spent almost $2 million in renovations to gussy up the house for its series, A Very Brady Renovation, hosted by Drew and Jonathan Scott.”
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The Wall Street Journal noted that “homes on that block in Studio City are typically priced between $1-$3 million,” placing the Brady Bunch house on the upper end in its neighborhood — but not by much. But new owner Tina Trahan saved $2.2 million (46 percent off the asking price) by simply exercising a bit of patience. Trahan said she planned to use the house for “fundraising,” “charitable events,” and as “a luxury rental.”
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