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Harry Potter’s House For Sale: Is It A Rip-Off Or A Steal?

By Alicia Bayer
Published on: 05:37 PST, Sep 19, 2016

The house where Harry Potter lived in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is up for sale.

The famous house where the young wizard was forced to live in a cupboard under the stairs has been put on the market for £475,000 ($620,000).

According to an advertisement on Zoopla, the three bedroom house is located on a quiet cul-de-sac and has undergone many improvements since it was featured in the movie nearly 15 years ago. The house has a recently remodeled kitchen and dining area, upgraded security system and a “south facing landscaped rear garden with large patio.”

The previous owner of 1,003-square-foot, two-story house was approached by Warner Brothers in 2001 for the house to be the setting for the first Harry Potter film, where Harry’s cruel aunt and uncle, Vernon and Petunia Dursley, forced him to live under the stairs. In the film, Harry lived with the Dursleys for his first 11 years before leaving for Hogwarts. Subsequent films were shot on studio sets.

The asking price of £475,000 is typical for the area, according to CNBC. They report that the house sold in 2004 for just under £240,000 and then again in 2010 for £290,000. They report that houses in the UK are fetching higher prices thanks to a strong market, government stimulus and lack of homes.

Interested buyers can flip through photos of the house on the listing. The house looks quite different these days than it did in that first Harry Potter movie, with spacious, modern rooms.

It is obvious that children have been living in the iconic house, since photos show two children’s bedrooms and a trampoline in the back yard. Both kids’ rooms are painted blue. One has an animal theme and the other is pirate-themed. Neither child’s room showed traces of Harry Potter themed decorations or books.

There are no photos or mention on the listing of any cupboards under the stairs.

While the house’s address in the Harry Potter films was 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey, the actual address is at Picket Post Close, Martins Heron, Bracknell, Berkshire, which CNET reports is about 35 miles west of London.

Harry Potter fans will remember many areas of the house from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. The exterior does not look much different from when owls kept trying to deliver letters from Hogwarts to Harry.

Harry Potter fans have been happily dreaming about snatching up the iconic house.

CNN Money reports that Berkshire is a “fashionable county.” It is home to Windsor Castle, Ascot Racecourse, and prominent people such as the parents of the Duchess of Cambridge and U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May.

However, local readers at the UK’s Daily Mail were quick to call the price a rip-off, Harry Potter ties or not.

“Bracknell is a horrible place. Surrounded by nicer villages and countryside, but horrendous place and traffic in every direction in and out,” sniffed one reader in the comments. “Would not live there if you paid me to.”

“Perspective buyers be warned, the house is located not far from the local Sewage works on ‘Bog lane,'” wrote another. “So its not just the price that stinks.”

And another added, “‘Iconic’ it may be but it comes with the price tag of having to live in Bracknell.”

It is certain that there are many Harry Potter fans that would consider it priceless to live in such an iconic house, and the price is relatively inexpensive compared to real estate in some parts of the United States and the United Kingdom.

It remains to be seen whether the house will be snatched up at the asking price or if the price will be lowered to make a sale.

Do you think it would be worth the price to live in Harry Potter’s childhood home?

[Featured Image by Warner Brothers]

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