White House 'could fetch up to US dollars 115 million'

"This would be an extreme luxury home. It would probably be US dollars 100 or US dollars 115 (million)," the 'New York Daily News' online quoted Jason Koitz, a strategist with The Koitz Group, as telling real estate website 'Movoto'.

Koitz said the White House would sell for between US dollars 75 million and US dollars 80 million, or between US dollars 1,364 and US dollars 1,455 a square foot.

The realtor, based in Washington DC, said his estimate reflects comparable sales in the Washington area, where the most expensive home, a 21,000-square-foot mansion in McLean, Va, has an estimated value of US dollars 45.5 million.

The 55,000-square-foot six-level White House at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has 132 rooms, 35 baths, 28 fireplaces and three elevators. Amenities include a basketball court, tennis court, movie theatre, bowling alley, swimming pool and jogging track for the American President and his family members.

The house has been renovated nine times in its 212-year history, which includes President Harry S Truman's overseeing a complete reconstruction of the building between 1948 and 1952.

However, Koitz said the White House could sell for as much as a billion dollars, after factoring in the dwelling's historical value.

The process "to see what it could potentially fetch, would be astounding", he added.