I say auction it!! let's see what the China & Russia wants to pay for it :-)

The Seller Property Condidtion Disclosures would be awesome! "Considerable remodeling done in 1814 due to unexpected battle damage, did not have building permit..."

Like the saying goes... if you have to ask the price, you can't afford it.  I think of it as priceless with a HUGE maintenance fee that only seems to increase yearly!

Well look at it differently. 18 acre of prime real estate sooo...

lift the building and sell it off, I would safely guess to an American buyer, 80 to 140 million keeping it in the USA. sky's the limit if it goes off-shore

land value ... 18 acres with air rights doing some quick numbers, business park development project, 2 parking spots per 800 sqft of usable space, I'm guessing 400 about million outright buy, or 100 year land lease at 16  million a year +++

I used this as my quick comp http://www.cityfeet.com/cont/ForSale/LN19014688/1800-R-Street-Nw-Washington-DC-20009

I like the answer that refers to the Politico story (thanks Ron, birdhouses rock, I have three in my backyard) that lists the approximate market value at $110M, but because of the historical value, could sell for over one-billion.  Technically, the White House is owned by the American public, but held by the US National Park Service.  I don't THINK they're going to sell it anytime soon, but if they did, and if my math is correct, assuming they got one billion (not counting my commission) the Amercian public would get a little over $3 for every man, woman and child.  Darn.

And Ritu, Russia can't afford it anymore, they about as close to bankrupt as Greece.

Oh, and for those of you H of C fans who have watched all of season 3 already (NO Spoiler here), I'm still catching up on my sleep). You might be wondering who does the song at the start of the final episode, I was pleased to see them feature a great bluesey song by my favorite Florida-swamp-blues-ghetto-jam-band and one of the finest blues singers out there, JJ Grey and The Mofros.  The song is "The Sun is Shining Down" and you get to hear about half of it while you watch Rachel start her day.

My answer is.....and I am just picking this out of the sky.....$110 million, but if you don't agree, check this out.  http://www.politico.com/politico44/2012/05/realtor-listing-price-for-the-white-house-would-be-122511.html

The Dems. will overprice it as it has a current tenant with a two years of a four year lease remaining. The Reps. will try to market it cheap because they know that the eviction of the current tenant will be difficult. My personal feeling is that it would be a difficult sale as there is certainly a lopsided debt structure and a certain short sale.  Geting approval from the multiple leinholders will be all but impossible.  

It certainly is a difficult property to price as it is overimproved for the neighborhood and a residential property in a commercial enterprise zone. Highest and best use would be possibly a high end bed and breakfast or maybe professional offices. DC's zoning might be a challange.

While not being able to get a firm price on how much it would list for, Bill Clinton did show the commerical value for the property when "renting" out the Lincoln Bedroom for a weekend for a $100,000 campaign contribution.

Perhaps he was on to something and we could turn the WH into a bed and breakfast to defray Executive Department expenses, and the Congress could hold weekend sleep overs for groups to defray the expenses of the Capitol Hill staffers!

I watched the first two episodes last night.  The price tag for the White House?  It does have a lot of amenities -  ground to air missiles are among my favorites.  I'm not certain how many zeros the number would have.

Just for grins the Zillow has it as a 16 bedroom 35 bathroom home with 55,000 sq. ft. and a Zestimate of $384.9 million.

One billion dollars.

I would would list it for $1.00 and evict the tenants.

I wouldn't, because it wouldn't sell. Why? They've been doing open houses for years and no takers yet, that's why they keep writing 4 year leases :)

Thank you to Doug Mellen   for telling me about JJ Grey & Mofu!!  Wow...what a voice and what a song!!  Especially the 10 minute version!!! The guitar rifts were awesome!!  Forgot all about the original question!!  If you like a gravel voice and electric guitar...as well as some horns...and have never heard this... check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cYRs2SReps   Goosebumps!!

Great question and I have no idea.  But it seems to me a the White House and Capitol are bought everyday by K Street lobbyist. 

Given the national debt, this might be a short sale?!

It depends. Is it being sold with a functioning Congress? Would there be a bidding war?  List low to generate interest?  What is the value. Not only China and Russia would bid. What about Koch, Soros and Corporations?What would the replacement cost be since there are no comps, it would have to be a narrative report......a very long one. $110,000 mil is chump change. Homes on Palm Beach sell for that.

I've never seen the show, but what a fun exercise. Guess you'd have to tour the place and make good notes before you could go looking for comps. 

I watched the entire 3rd Season on Netflicks yeaterday and it was a wonderful and effective disctraction from a difficult escrow transaction.  I would not ever list the White House as it is a National Treasure with infinite value that could never be quantified.

I haven't seen the inside yet!

For comparison, there's currently a home, 9 bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, nice grounds.  It's just a few blocks down from VP Biden's place, which should also ensure good security. I've not seen the White House wine cellar nor the gym, so I can't compare.  But it this place is asking $16m, then Ron Marshall 's Politico starts looking like a bargain if you get the White House for $110m.  The Zestimate seems a bit high, but you've got to admit, the views from the White House are surely worth a few $m.

Haha - what a great hypothetical.  I'd pitch the "auction effect" and list just under $100 mm at $999,999,777.  I mean, if we're just throwing numbers out there :-)

Hank,

We would need to do a CMA, and it looks like Gabe Sanders did some preliminary work on that...Perhaps Bill Dandridge is accurate.  Although, we both think House of Cards is brilliantly produced and the actors are phenomenal, we cannot watch it.  It just too revolting and stultifying for our well being.  A

Was in a group that did a little fun guesstimating this situation and came in the range of $150-$300 million.

I am also enjoying House of Cards immensely...great entertainment. But I haven't had one bit of interest in listing the white house...lol!

No idea.

Not sure....

just looking back on some of the old questions and answers, looks like you got some good replies here.

Considering how they restored it in the 40"s and all the extra's, I would expect to be one of the Higest priced homes in the world

IMO, it's priceless but with the present family occupying it now, it's probably worthless to many qualified buyers. 

LOL! The White House has been over leveraged for decades But in the last 6 1/2 years it's gone totally in the RED literally and figuratively if you get my drift.

Very clever!  It's priceless of course.  Snowed here on Saturday so hubby and I stayed in that evening and watched first three episodes--excellent!

Does it come with the tenants in it? What rent are they paying?

$1. The competition would drive the price up and the owners would be excited for the 110,000,000 % + price increase!

i love that show!  Priceless

Given the state of our economy, It will be a short sale to china. 

And hey, don't binge watch...you will tax your brain cells.

Well, I don't watch HofC either, but here's what Homesnap has to say about the estimated value of a few other "1600 Pennsylvania Avenues" around the country...
http://www.homesnap.com/search?q=1600+Pennsylvania+Ave%2C+Washington+DC&pt=0

White exteriors don't sell well so you would have to do a repaint. Just kidding.

Well, it's 55,000 square feet with 18 acres convenient to everything. Man - that would be an awesome listing.

I understand it's occupied and furnished, perhaps it would be best to list it "as is" and "all contents included with sale"

Two questions:

Will the seller take back a mortgage on the property? I'm thinking a five year balloon at 3.75%.

If I can get the zoning will D.C. allow a townhouse community to be built on the property?

Well, not being from DC, I did what any interested, foolish homeowner would do. I ran a ZESTIMATE! And according to Zillow, if we were to do a refi, thepayments would be.... $1,407,129/mo

We could rent it for....$1,810,043/mo. Interesting.... 

IF you want to see what Zillow has to say about it, run it yourself. Took about 1 second, LOL. 

You'd have to disclose the previous fire damage & the poor security.

The challenge would be putting a price on the sentimental value and emotional; attachment.

I think it would be a matter of who could afford it.  Maybe Bill Gates as he is the richest man in the world according to Forbes Magazine.  But I don't think it is for sale and the American public would be very upset if it was sold - unless it was sold for the cost of the national debt!  What an interesting musing!

Good question Hank I'm sure it is beyond my budget.
I am glad to hear that the new season of house of cards is out though I will have to schedule some time to watch it.

Olivia Pope on Scandal was auctioned off for One Billion dollars so I think the White House would go for more than that.  After all, I am sure there are millions of dollars worth of wire taps alone in that place.

I say quite a bit but it is owned by the tax payers..I say stop the tax increases and give it back..the white house really is pretty vacant anyway and no longer in use

My husband is also binge watching House of Cards ... while I am working -- but I am getting bits and pieces.   My guess would be $2-500 million ... hmmmm that would not even put a dent in the deficit would it?

Saw something on a news station once where two local luxury specialists were asked the same question.  I can't remember the high bid, but the lower bid was $1 billion.

Hank - I'll have to admit that I don't watch - and actually have never even seen - the House of Cards.......but though I don't really have a guess this is really a good exercise and shows how to evaluate those 'impossible' comps.