It’s Good Money For Your Home If You Can Get It

October 30, 2024
  • Owners Of Homes Used For Movie Sets Can Get $10 Thousand Per Day
  • A Home’s Movie Legacy Probably Doesn’t Add A Value Premium At Sale
  • The Hassle Of The “Home As Movie Set” Experience Isn’t For Everyone

During the spring of 2007, a movie based on the 1961 book Revolutionary Road was filmed near us in Connecticut. Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet were practicing their lines in the backyard of the house next door to ours. A film crewmember had scouted our then-home as a possible place to film. We were excited at the possibility and learned the going rate to move out for 3-4 days for filming was as much as $10,000 per day. Since our home back then was built in 1825 and the movie period was the early 1960s, it was not a good fit. The home they selected was across the street in a separate neighborhood. It was used as a set for three months (do the math). They wrapped the home in a giant plastic bag to control the lighting and cut a large hole out of the back of the second floor for filming. The landscaping in the backyard was destroyed by all the equipment. Houses on my block that were adjacent to the “set” were used for food service, storage, and parking. I believe the fees for those driveway rentals were less than $100 per day and my neighbors said it wasn’t worth the hassle. By the end of the summer, the traffic, lack of privacy, and the semi-trailers parked on our narrow road were getting old. After the filming was over, the house used for the set was restored to better than its original condition. Every time we went for a walk in the neighborhood, we looked at that house a lot differently than before all the excitement.

I bought the book during the filming but waited for the movie to come out. When I saw the movie, I found the story so depressing, I never read the book. Ha.

A New Documentary: ‘The House From …’

A New York Times story: This House Looks Familiar covered a new documentary “The House From …” that explores what happened to homes that starred in movies. I haven’t seen it yet but it explores how powerful movie imagery can be to some viewers.

Does A Movie Legacy Add To A Home’s Value?

Probably not.

In my experience, a movie legacy doesn’t seem to add a premium to the property value but may reduce marketing time from the additional consumers that were exposed to the property. For every property that sold for a premium, there seemed to be just as many that sold without a premium.

Reasons for the lack of a premium might include the procession of strangers that make a pilgrimage to the property, thinking they have the right to access it, and disregarding the owner’s privacy.

The hassle of ownership may serve as an offset to an assumed value premium.

Final Thoughts

After personally appraising more than 8,000 residential properties in my career, I rarely observe a celebrity or movie premium after looking at the “comps.” When a property was once owned by a celebrity or a movie was filmed on it, the broker listing usually discloses it during their marketing efforts. The assumed premium doesn’t seem to carry additional value for the property.

But hey, what a great story to share. And so is pie.

Did you miss yesterday’s Housing Notes?

October 27, 2024

In This Case, A Free Porsche Translates To Marketing Desperation

Image: ChatGPT

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