Marilyn Monroe’s

Written by Jim the Realtor

September 10, 2010

Marilyn Monroe’s old house in Brentwood just sold for 7% over list price.

“Urged by her psychiatrist to ‘put down roots,’ she had found the house and bought it—all by herself. She had liked the house and took a trip to Mexico to look for furnishings and fabrics. She especially liked the garden, where she often played with her poodle, Maf.”   According to the Marilyn Monroe Memories web site, “This was the first property that Marilyn Monroe ever owned. She took out a mortgage which started on 1st March 1962, was for 15 years, and Marilyn made monthly payments of $320. The house was situated at the end of a small cul-de-sac, and was very private, away from the busy roads.”

12305 5TH HELENA Dr Los Angeles, CA

Beds: 4
Baths: 3
Sq. Ft.: 2,624
$/Sq. Ft.: $1,467
Lot Size: 0.53 Acres
Year Built 1929
Style: Hacienda
Community: Brentwood
   
   

MLS remarks: Sprawling & very special authentic 1929 Hacienda situated behind tall gates at the end of a quiet cul de sac on over 23K sq ft (per assessor) of tree-filled grounds. The crown jewel & largest property of all the Helenas (one of Brentwood’s most romantic & coveted locations) affording lovely vistas & grt privacy & seclusion yet in close proximity to San Vicente shops & restaurants & the Sunday Farmer~s Market. Thick walls, traditional casement windows, polished concrete & terra cotta tile floors, original wood beamed ceilings & period hardware & tiles create a warm, inviting & unique environment. French doors open to private courtyard, expansive grassy yard, pool, citrus grove & beautiful setting. 4 bedrooms, 3 baths + formal living room, family room, office, pool-side game room & separate children~s play house. Sun-filled cook~s kitchen opens to spacious courtyard garden. Wonderful charm & great architecture inside & out. Magical property in the finest Brentwood neighborhood.

Some of the sales history:

1962: $90,000

1994: $995,000

1996: $925,009

2010: $3,850,000  (LP = $3,595,000)

9 Comments

  1. GW

    A 30% annual increase over 14 years from ’96 to 2010? I wonder if there were any upgrades over this time, then I note the 34.5% avg. increase over 32 yrs from ’62 to ’94. Wow!!!
    Or is my math deficient…

  2. greenlander

    Your math is wrong, GW.

    For 1962->1994 the math is:

    (995000/90000)^(1/(1994-1962)) = 14.3% annually.

    Still, a decent rate of return…

  3. tj & the bear

    Looks like she had good taste in housing.

  4. Pat b

    The thing I remember was in 1963 my dad was working for Boeing making 10k a year, he could have covered that mortgage

  5. GameAgent

    Pat b…
    $10K was a great income in 1963. The typical income in those days was something like $5-$6K a year.

  6. clearfund

    patb & GA: my folks bought their house in 1971 in orange county for $27k and dad worked at boeing making about $9k/yr…3x…pretty sweet days. Had a 15 yr mortagage cheaper than my first car payment.

  7. GameAgent

    clearfund…
    Some say the definition of ‘old’ is when you paid more for your car than you paid for your first house. I paid $37k for my first house in 1978. In 1995 I paid $45k for a new BMW. Guess I’m real old.

  8. Keith

    @GameAgent has found the fountain of youth!

    I paid $360,000 for my first house. It is going to be a really really long time before cars are generally $361,000 or more. So to never get “old” just pay a lot for your first house?

  9. Brentwood Realtor

    As a Brentwood Realtor I viewed this home during caravan and was amazed by the amount of publicity it received. There were crowds of news reporters trying to get a glimpse inside. The team on site did a great job managing things! The house cute and an quant.

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Klinge Realty Group

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