If the White House Were for Sale, How Much Would it Cost?

Here's a fun look at possible price tags for presidential properties. Yowza! A recent appraisal of The White House -- as a prime property, not the seat of world power -- set its price at $1.5 billion (with a B).

The Wall Street Journal turned to D.C. appraiser Dennis Duffy to put a price tag on three current and former presidential properties: The White House; Mount Vernon, George Washington's home; and Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home. Duffy considered the cost to rebuild, value of outbuildings, infrastructure, and land that could be sold.

Duffy's appraisal results:

White House: 100,000 sq. ft., 13 bedrooms, 35 bathrooms, and 18 acres of prime downtown real estate -- $1.5 billion

Mount Vernon: 7,000 sq. ft. in suburban D.C., river view of the Potomac (though no bathrooms) -- $150 million

Monticello: 11,000 sq. ft., four stories, 43 rooms, exquisite artisanship -- $106.5 million

Overpriced or underpriced?

Lisa Kaplan Gordon is an avid gardener, a member of the Fairfax County Master Gardeners Association, and a builder of luxury homes in McLean, Va. She's been a Homes editor for Gannett News Service and has reviewed home improvement products for AOL.