How much would it cost to buy Hogwarts, Bruce Wayne’s manor, Mr. Rogers’ house, He-Man’s Castle Grayskull and more.
Real real estate is boring. It’s far more entertaining to talk about imaginary real estate.
My friends at Movoto.com (whom I’ve cited in the past) have done some excellent work on digging deep and nerdily to figure out the value of fictional characters’ homes and castles. Lots of castles. Characters be livin’ in castles.
Here are 11 of the best real estate price estimates on famous fictional homes…
1 | Mr. Rogers’ house, $46,000
1 bed, 1 bath, 300 sq. feet
Fred Rogers lived in Squirrel Hill, a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, during the filming of the show. The “home” they show isn’t his — clearly, it’s a model — but it’s estimated to be a one bedroom, one bathroom. Based on comparable homes in the area, you could live in Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood like a regular King Friday the 13th for a super modest $46,000. Just think of how much money you’d have left over to spend on sweaters. (link)
2 | Bruce Wayne’s Wayne Manor, $32.1 million
11 bed, 7 bath, 42,500 sq. feet on 150 acres
They used Chicago prices to estimate Gotham City prices. (Even though Gotham is a New York City nickname, in the DC Comics world, Metropolis is already claiming New York.) This mansion isn’t just huge, it also comes with a ballroom, a live-in butler, a laboratory, and a super duper mysterious cave which, unfortunately, you’d probably just end up using as extra storage. (link)
3 | Thor’s castle, $212.7 million
600 rooms, 259,410 sq. feet
It’s impossible to figure the price out using the Asgardian real estate market — maybe we can ask them the next time our realm lines up with theirs, assuming the seemingly requisite battle for domination of the universe doesn’t break out. So, instead, the estimate is based on Uppsala, Sweden. It’s apparently as similar to Asgard as you’re going to find both in geographical makeup and mythology. If you did get buy this castle, at least you know it’s got rooms full of demigod treasures — enough to give you a lifetime’s worth of crazy, random powers but nothing that can make you immortal. (link)
4 | He-Man’s Castle Grayskull, $2.14 million
16,745 sq. feet, drawbridge, sorceress on site
What a reasonable price for such an iconic castle. When I was a He-Man-obsessed youth, my parents bought me the amazing Castle Grayskull playset for my birthday. And based on how much Mattel was gauging parents on He-Man prices, the inflation adjusted price of the *toy* Castle Grayskull might be pushing $2.14 million today. (link)
5 | The Shining‘s Overlook Hotel, $1.3 million
40 rooms, 16,000 sq. feet
The Overlook is loosely based on a real hotel in Colorado, the Stanley Hotel. For your $1.3 million you even get a live-in caretaker, assorted extra speed holes in the walls, a hedge maze, a complimentary Indian burial ground and two really creepy little ghost girls to teach you and your kids hollow-sounding versions of nursery rhymes. (link)
6 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sewer lair, $10.96 million
5 bed, 12,420 sq. feet, dojo
Hey, 12,000 square feet in Manhattan is 12,000 square feet in Manhattan. Plus, there’s no need to count the number of bathrooms because everywhere’s a bathroom. (link)
7 | Princess Jasmine’s Palace, $51.9 million
1.15 million sq. feet
Caveat emptor: Must evict Jafar. (link)
8 | Hogwarts Castle, $204 million
414,000 sq. feet
There are (apparently) clues in the books that Hogwarts is somewhere in northern Scotland. I’m guessing it’s near North Kiltown, but that’s just speculation. Based on the number of classrooms and dorms, it has to be 414,000 square feet — although I’m not sure if that includes that big room that can only appear when you really wish it would appear. But… the unbelievable number of children who died on site will probably decrease the property value more than you’d realize. (link)
9 | Schrute Farms, $911,000
9 bed, 1 barn, 60 acres of beets
I never really understood why The Office turned Dwight into a beet farmer, but apparently he was sitting on a gold mine. Assuming you have the time to work a full time job, own an office building, operate a bed-and-breakfast and harvest beets. (link)
10 | Superman’s Fortress of Solitude, $814 trillion
141,300 square feet, all made of sunstone (estimated here based on diamond prices)
It’s SO Superman to take things to a whole different, exaggerated level. $814 trillion!? See, that’s why people don’t like the Superman movies. Everything’s too grandiose. We like our superheroes flawed, cocky and wise crackin’, not living in $814 trillion dollar ice palaces. (link)
11 | Bluth Model Home, $882,000
3 bed, 3 bath, 1 secret room, 3,000 sq. feet
You’re probably better off going with a Sitwell. The model home is in a development called Sudden Valley, it’s poorly constructed, covered in blue paint, doesn’t have a road leading to it, the attic is definitely befouled and I believe there’s a mole problem. (link)