Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Boyhood Home is for Sale
The historic Virginia home that Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee grew up in hit the market in April 2018 for $8.5 million. (Trapasso, C.)
Robert E. Lee’s father Henry rented the home in 1812, according to The Washington Post. The family lived there for over 80 years, including Robert E. Lee from age five to when he went to West Point in 1825. He again visited five years after the Civil War ended, The Post reported. (Leayman, E.)
The home’s other claim to fame is that President George Washington also dined and lodged there before the Lee family moved in. (Trapasso, C.)
Built in 1795, the brick house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. (Trapasso, C.)
The home had been used as a residence until 1966. The Stonewall Jackson Memorial Foundation purchased the home and opened it to the public. Unable to make ends meet, the foundation sold the home in 2000 to Mark and Ann Kington for $2.5 million. (Trapasso, C.)
The childhood home of Robert E. Lee that was listed in 2018 for $8.5 million dollars, was sold in 2020. Public records show it sold for almost half the original asking price at $4.7 million. (Alexandria Living Magazine.)
In your initial response to the topic please answer the following questions:
- Calculate the annual compound growth rate of the house price from the time the house was sold to Mark and Ann Kington in 2000, until the house was sold at the reduced price in 2020, using the reduced price as the ending value. (Round the number of years to the whole number). Please show your work.
- Assume that the growth rate you calculated in question #1 prevailed since Robert E. Lee’s father Henry rented the home in 1812. Calculate the price of the house in 1812. (Round the number of years to the whole number). Please show your work.
- You were using the time value of money concept to answer question #2. Think about the timeline for that problem. What is the time point 0 in that problem? Please explain your answer.
- Assume the growth rate that you calculated in #1 prevailed since 1795. Calculate the price of the house in 1795. Please show your work.
- Assume that the growth rate you calculated in question #1 remains the same until the Stonewall Jackson Memorial Foundation purchased the home in 1966 and opened it to the public. Calculate the price of the house in 1966. (Round the number of years to the whole number). (TIP: To get the answer correctly you need to use the price of the house in your calculations in dollars with all zeros). Please show your work.
- In 2018, the listed price of the house was $8.5 million. If the house would have sold for the original asking price, calculate the annual compound growth rate of the house price from the time the house was sold to Mark and Ann Kington in 2000, until the house was listed in 2018. (The rate should be calculated to two decimals. Round the number of years to the whole number). Please show your work.
- How much did the growth rate change and why?
- Reflection – the students also should include a paragraph in the initial response in their own words reflecting on specifically what they learned from the assignment and how they think they could apply what they learned in the workplace or in everyday life.
This discussion is “must post first” so you won’t be able to see any other threads until you submit your initial post. Do not edit your original post, but feel free to make corrections to your original answers by replying to your own thread with updates as you learn more about time value of money calculations.
You are expected to make your own contribution in a main topic as well as respond with value added comments to at least two of your classmates as well as to your instructor.
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References
Alexandria Living (2020, July 24). After Two Years on the Market, Robert E. Lee’s Boyhood Home Sells for $4.7 Million, from https://alexandrialivingmagazine.com/home-and-garden/after-two-years-on-the-market-robert-e-lee%E2%80%99s-boyhood-home-se/
Zap, Claudine (2019, October 4). Price of General Robert E. Lee’s boyhood home slashed to $5.6 million, from https://www.foxnews.com/real-estate/general-robert-e-lees-home-5-6-million
Trapasso, C. (2018, April 3). Own Some Civil War-Era History: Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Boyhood Home is for Sale, from https://www.realtor.com/news/unique-homes/general-robert-e-lees-boyhood-home-sale/
Leayman, E. (2019, March 26). Robert E. Lee Boyhood Home Listed for Reduced Price. Retrieved April 2, 2019, from https://patch.com/virginia/oldtownalexandria/robert-e-lee-boyhood-homes-listed-reduced-price
