Despite all the bad things that happen in Hawkins, Indiana, the fictional town made famous by the Netflix hit series Stranger Things, you should know that its real estate is still in very high demand.
In recent days, a buyer made a nearly $US600,000 ($832,920) offer on the home of one of Hawkins’ most infamous families: the Byers. The three-bedroom, two-bathroom house — located in Fayetteville, Georgia and not in cursed Hawkins, thankfully — consists of a six-acre lot and was used as a set in the show. It went on the market in mid-September for $US300,000 ($416,460), according to a listing from eXp Realty in Georgia.
The buyer’s agent told Gizmodo that the plan is to start work on it immediately and turn it into a replica of the Byers’ house from the earlier seasons of the show. The house will then be put on Airbnb. Furthermore, because the property is on six acres of land, the idea is to add other locations or homes from the show, such as Eddie Munson’s trailer from season four. If everything closes on time, the buyer may launch a Stranger Things haunted forest and house tour for the week of Halloween.
While the price might not seem high for one of Netflix’s most iconic houses, you should know that the Byers’ home up for sale needs some serious work. As explained in the listing, it needs a “full rehab.”
Michael Smith, an agent with eXp Realty, told the New York Post that he estimates the house will need between $US50,000 ($69,410) to $US100,000 ($138,820) in repairs to get it into Airbnb shape. The house was built in the year 1900, making it more than a century old.
The Stranger Things house is owned by seven siblings who were raised there, according to the Post. Smith explained that family members don’t have the capacity to fix up the house or take advantage of its newfound fame and turn it into an attraction, which is why they’re selling it.
Nonetheless, the house is no stranger to attention and has already received many unsolicited visits from the show’s fans.
“Since the show was aired fans have travelled far and wide, almost daily, just to drive by and get a picture,” Smith wrote in the property listing. “So much so that the owners had to put up a driveway barricade and ‘Private Property’ signs just to keep people from trespassing, so needless to say, the house gets a ton of attention.”
Katie Siplon, an agent with TriCounty Real Estate in Savannah, confirmed to Gizmodo that her client had made an offer on the house nearly double the asking price that had been accepted. Her client is an investor from Portland whose kids, nieces, and nephews love the show. Siplon’s company will be managing the property post-closing. Smith confirmed the house had been sold to Siplon’s client in a phone call with Gizmodo and said he expected the deal to be completed soon.
Given that it’s a famous house, Siplon said the bidding process was an uphill battle: “The process was extremely competitive, the market is insane right now as it is, throwing in the fact that it’s a ‘famous’ house, made it even tougher of a battle to win, but we did! We’re very excited.”
“We have some awesome collaborators that are bringing so much creativity to the table, it’s going to be really fun and a really great Airbnb to experience if you’re a fan of the show,” Siplon stated.
All in all, at least fans won’t have to trespass to get a look at the Byers’ house anymore. However, if we may offer one piece of advice, it’s this: Make sure to get Netflix’s approval. As the streaming giant’s squabble and lawsuit with the Grammy-winning creators of The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical demonstrates, Netflix doesn’t shy away from a fight when it feels it’s been wronged. (In the Bridgerton case, Netflix settled with the creators.) Gizmodo reached out to Netflix for comment on the plans for the Stranger Things house but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
Want to see what the Byers’ house looks like now without all that post-production glam? Click and you shall receive.
The Byers’ House Without the Creepy Overlay
The House Sits on Six Acres of Land
OK, Seeing That It Looks Like It’s in the Middle of Nowhere Makes It Slightly Creepier
A Look at the Side. Cosy!
I Wonder How Long It’s Been Since Anyone’s Lived There
The Back of the House Has a Small Deck
Oh Thank God, There Is at Least One Neighbour
A Peek at the Inside
And It Wouldn’t be a Stranger Things House Without… the Wall
