Over the past three years, the White House has lost nearly a quarter of its value, the Chicago Tribune reports. In just the past month, the 132-room presidential mansion has dropped nearly $4 million.
During the housing boom, the White House was valued at $331.5 million, according to Zillow, but now sits at $253.1 million--a 23.7 percent decline in value.
The White House boasts 16 bedrooms and 35 bathrooms on 18 acres in Washington, D.C.
Many home owners can relate to its steep drop in price due to market conditions. Home owners across the country are facing similar drops, with a 23 percent average decline in housing values since 2006.
Still, Ted Jones, chief economist at the Stewart Title Guaranty Co., says buying a house is a better investment over the long haul than even buying gold. He notes that if you had purchased a median-priced existing home in January 1980 and sold it in October 2010, you’d have a 252 percent gain — despite the 23 percent drop in values since 2006. The value of gold in the last 30 years, on the other hand, has not kept up with inflation.
"And unlike gold, you would have been able to live in the property, reap the tax deductions for mortgage interest and property taxes, and a nontaxable gain of up to $500,000 when the house was sold," Jones says.
Source: “White House Lost Value Too,” Chicago Tribune (Jan. 2, 2011)