Trump’s Childhood Home in Queens Back on the Market for $2.3 Million After Major Overhaul
A Tudor-style house tucked into the quiet streets of Jamaica Estates, Queens — the home where President Donald Trump spent his early years — has reemerged on the market for $2.3 million, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The five-bedroom residence, originally constructed in 1940 by Fred Trump, was the family’s first home in the neighborhood before they moved to a larger property nearby. Though its exterior still bears the signature brick-and-stucco look of mid-century Queens architecture, the house’s interior has undergone a dramatic rebirth after years of decline.
Developer Tommy Lin purchased the property in February for $835,000, a steep discount from its past sale prices, after it sat vacant and crumbling. “There was no water in the house, no power,” Lin told the Journal. “It was not livable.” What followed was an eight-month renovation that stripped the home to its bare framework and rebuilt it from within.
While the project might appear politically charged given its history, Lin insists that wasn’t his motivation. He sees the house’s value as rooted in its location and provenance, not in presidential nostalgia. “I’m not buying it for politics,” he said, noting that Jamaica Estates remains one of Queens’ priciest and most desirable areas, where luxury homes regularly exceed $3 million.
Real estate agent Jevon Gratineau of Brown Harris Stevens said recent neighborhood sales reflect the area’s strength. A six-bedroom home nearby sold for about $4 million earlier this year, while listings below the million-dollar mark are becoming increasingly scarce.
This particular home has seen its share of curious ownership twists. On the night of the 2016 election, Manhattan investor Michael Davis snapped it up for $1.39 million, betting that if Trump won, the home’s value would soar. His gamble paid off — by Inauguration Day 2017, he flipped it to a Chinese buyer for $2.14 million.
Davis later rented the home for $4,000 per month and briefly transformed it into an Airbnb, outfitted entirely in Trump memorabilia. “The only thing to read in the house was ‘The Art of the Deal,’” he recalled. A plaque once claimed the master bedroom was “likely the site of Trump’s conception.” The Airbnb, Davis said, was “booked almost indefinitely” — until a short-term lease to Oxfam during the U.N. General Assembly brought unwanted attention and effectively ended the arrangement.
“I thought I’d make 100 grand. I did not think that I would make millions of dollars on this. That was not on my bingo card,” Davis said, adding that he still keeps a miniature bobblehead of the house on his desk as a reminder.
After the rental experiment ended, the once-famous property slipped into neglect. A burst pipe led to severe water damage and mold infestations, and neighbors complained of blight — and stray cats. “A beautiful house was left abandoned and no one took care of it for all this time,” one frustrated neighbor told The Post. “No one occupied it, no one used it and it was left as an eyesore and we, the community, had to take care of it.”
By the time Lin took over, the house had been overrun by about two dozen cats, the basement was covered in mold, and the roof required total replacement. Lin invested an estimated $500,000 in repairs and upgrades, bringing his total investment to more than $1.3 million.
Today, the restored home spans roughly 2,500 square feet above ground, with nearly 1,000 additional square feet in the basement across four levels. It features a sunroom overlooking the backyard and retains one relic of the past — an old wood stove believed to be original. Lin added modern amenities including smart entry systems and automated toilets, giving new life to a house that once marked the beginnings of one of America’s most famous figures.
{Matzav.com}
