As It Happens6:10You could own the Brady Bunch house — for only $5.5 million US
At $5.5 million US (about $7.5 million Cdn), the Brady Bunch family home is “a steal,” according to realtor Danny Brown.
“It’s priceless,” he told As It Happens guest host Helen Mann. “The next owner will be the steward of this iconic property.”
In 2018, television channel HGTV purchased the Los Angeles house that was filmed for exterior shots on the classic American sitcom The Brady Bunchwhich ran for five seasons in the 1970s.
It kicked off their series A Very Brady Renovation, where surviving Brady Bunch cast members reunited to renovate their television home.
Selling for about $7.5 million Cdn, the midcentury home was converted into a replica of the set used by the show.
The listings, managed by Compass Real Estate and sold by Brown, is a “piece of American sitcom history.”
An exact duplicate of the TV show set will be included in the purchase, according to Brown.
“You feel like you’re living in the TV show when you walk through that house,” he said.
Photos of the house on Compass’s online listing boast shots of an interior nearly identical to the place the Bradys called home.
“You can’t imagine how much trouble they went into to match frame by frame, piece by piece,” he said. “Every inch of this house looks like this is the real deal.”
According to Brown, HGTV spent almost $2 million to renovate after purchasing it for $3.5 million. The house used to measure 2,000 square feet, but is now listed at 5,000 square feet.
“Any time you’re at the house… there’s people showing up day and night taking pictures of the house,” he said.
‘shaggy chic’
There’s no doubt that the home is a Brady Bunch super-fan’s dream. But the inside will bring potential buyers back deep into the ’70s.
Brown describes the home as “shaggy chic” — a great interior design for those who’d like to reminisce.
But if the home doesn’t have ties to the iconic sitcom, he thinks it may have been torn down to make room for a mega-mansion.
“Not too many people are looking for this style right now,” said Brown. “It’s definitely not the typical house that a normal family would want to live in.”
But who might buy it?
A listing like this one isn’t typical — and neither are its potential buyers.
Mostly, Brown says interested buyers are those who grew up watching The Brady Bunchsome who value owning a place tied to the show.
It could also attract a “fanatic with a lot of money,” and various home collectors.
But there’s much celebrity interest among potentials too.
In 2018, former ‘N Sync pop star Lance Bass publicly expressed his desire to purchase the house. In the end, he was reportedly outbid by HGTV.
“I did speak to Lance yesterday, and I’ll probably be seeing him sometime soon,” said Brown. “There are a lot of high profile people who want to come see the property.”
But the bottom line? Buyers will need to move fast.
Brown says he won’t be surprised if a bidding war ensues in the coming weeks.
“Bring your bag of cash,” he said. “It’s going to be competitive.”