Primary Homes: Where Five Democratic Frontrunners Head After the Campaign Trail

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Homes
Primary Homes: Where Five Democratic Frontrunners Head After the Campaign Trail
An overview of the real-estate portfolios of Pete Buttigieg, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden and Michael Bloomberg



By Katherine Clarke
Feb. 6, 2020 2:05 pm ET

The front-runners for the democratic presidential nomination may disagree on health care and tuition-free college, but they share one thing in common: a good nose for real estate.

In South Bend, Ind., a 20-something Pete Buttigieg snapped up a foreclosure in a historic neighborhood for $125,000 in 2009; the home is now worth nearly twice what he paid for it. In Wilmington, Del., former Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden spent $350,000 to buy a lot on a manmade lake; now, real-estate veterans say the home they built on the property is worth $2 million or more. Sen. Elizabeth Warren lives in a striking Victorian in one of the most desirable areas of Cambridge, Mass. Real-estate agents say it is worth nearly 10 times what she paid for it in 1995. Agents also say the vacation retreat in Vermont purchased in 2016 by Sen. Bernie Sanders and his wife Jane O’Meara Sanders has almost certainly increased in value already.

How Much They OwnThe estimated values of the top fiveDemocratic candidates' real-estate holdingsSources: Zillow; industry sources; previouslisting/sale prices
$100 million551.70.23MichaelBloombergElizabethWarrenJoe BidenBernieSandersPeteButtigieg
The real-estate holdings of some of these contenders may run in the millions, but they pale in comparison to the residential portfolio of Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor who owns, among other things, a historic Hamptons estate, a Bermuda beach house and a townhouse on New York’s tony Upper East Side. Presidential historian Douglas Brinkley said Mr. Bloomberg, who has a reported net worth of more than $60 billion, is the richest person ever to have run for president. “We’ve never seen anyone with this kind of financial arsenal,” he said.

Here is a Wall Street Journal analysis of the five front-runners’ real estate portfolios:



Pete Buttigieg appears to have gotten a good deal on this home in a historic district.
Photo: Building South Bend: Past, Present, Future/Architecture Library, University of Notre Dame, 2015
Pete Buttigieg
The former mayor of South Bend is more than three decades younger than his leading rivals. His real-estate portfolio is also the most modest.

Mr. Buttigieg paid $125,000 for his South Bend home in 2009, according to records. The then 27-year-old appears to have gotten a good deal, as the prior owner had been foreclosed on and Mr. Buttigieg bought the house directly from the bank. The home had been sitting vacant for sometime beforehand, according to his spokesman.

The home was built in 1903 by Edwin J. Lent, an ear, nose and throat doctor, according to the University of Notre Dame, which features the history of the district on its website. The property, which is Colonial in style with a white columned facade and terraces, has four bedrooms and is about 2,480 square feet, Mr. Buttigieg’s spokesman confirmed.


Mr. Buttigieg, husband Chasten Buttigieg and dog Truman.
Photo: Pete for America
Zillow estimates the home’s current value at about $230,000, almost twice the median home price in South Bend but still far less than the area’s priciest homes, which can top $1 million. Local agent Stephanie Larimore of Re/Max 100, who has a listing in the neighborhood, said that valuation sounded roughly accurate, adding that homes in the area can trade for anywhere from $100,000 to $400,000 depending on their size and finishes.

The property is in a historic district along the St. Joseph River, designated in 1978, according to the Historic Preservation Commission of South Bend and St. Joseph County. The district is known for its mix of 19th- and 20th-century architecture and includes a couple of Sears, Roebuck and Co. mail-order homes—kit homes that were ordered from the Sears catalog.

The area is considered walkable and is close to Leeper Park, where locals recently completed a successful campaign to rebuild and restore a historic Studebaker electric fountain. Ms. Larimore said the neighborhood is unpretentious. “It’s not one of those spots where you’re in a gated subdivision community,” she said.

In a video interview with Time last year, Mr. Buttigieg invited a reporter into the home. The interior featured elaborate wood paneling, a solid wood staircase, decorative windows, a fireplace and built-in wooden bookshelves.



The primary home of Sen. Bernie Sanders and his wife Jane O’Meara Sanders in Burlington, Vt.
Photo: Caleb Kenna for The Wall Street Journal
Bernie Sanders
A self-described democratic socialist, Sen. Bernie Sanders owns three homes: two in his home state of Vermont and another in Washington, D.C. The addition of a lake home in 2016 attracted some criticism that Mr. Sanders’s lifestyle doesn’t reflect his rhetoric.

Mr. Sanders and his wife Jane O’Meara Sanders bought their primary Burlington home for $405,000 in 2009 and obtained a $324,000 mortgage from Congressional FCU, the credit union, records show.


Mr. Sanders owns three homes: two in his home state of Vermont and another in Washington, D.C.
Photo: Sean Rayford/Getty Images
The property, which is a roughly 3-mile drive from Burlington City Hall, has four bedrooms and spans about 2,352 square feet, according to Zillow, which estimates its value at about $439,000. Other homes in the neighborhood have recently sold for between $300,000 and $500,000, according to the listings site.

The home is in a quiet area off Ethan Allen Park, a woodland area with views of Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks from a 40-foot stone observation tower. The neighborhood, named Ethan Allen Farms after the Revolutionary War soldier, is known for its proximity to downtown Burlington without the downtown price tag, said local agent and neighbor Matt Hurlburt. It is known for having a mix of homes, including Colonials, ranches and Tudor-style properties.


In Washington, D.C., the couple owns this roughly 900-square-foot townhouse dating to the late-1800s.
Photo: Google Maps
In Washington, D.C., the couple owns a roughly 900-square-foot townhouse dating to the late 1800s just off Stanton Park and close to the U.S. Capitol. They bought it for roughly $489,000 in 2007, records show. Similarly sized homes in the area have more recently traded for as much as $800,000. Zillow values the property at about $685,000.

In 2016, shortly before the publication of Mr. Sanders’s bestselling book “Our Revolution,” the couple bought an island retreat property in North Hero, Vt., for $575,000, records show. It originally listed for $775,000.

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The house dates back to 1910, and was later expanded into a two-story log house, according to listing agent Franz Rosenberger of Coldwell Banker Islands Realty. Spanning 1.13 acres, the property is ultra-private, situated in a wooded area off the road and surrounded by a state conservation wildlife sanctuary, according to the listing.

Mr. Rosenberger said he enjoyed working with the couple. He worked mostly with Ms. Sanders, and her husband showed up once they’d narrowed the search down to a few houses. Mr. Rosenberger said the house isn’t ostentatious, nor were the Sanders. “He showed up in Dockers, a button-down, a windbreaker and a ball cap,” Mr. Rosenberger said.


In 2016, shortly before the publication of Mr. Sanders’s bestselling book ‘Our Revolution,’ the couple bought an island retreat in Vermont for $575,000.
Photo: Caleb Kenna for The Wall Street Journal
“The sellers were elderly, and the mister didn’t tell his missis who was coming to the house. When she saw Bernie, her eyes got big and she said, ‘You’re that Bernie from the television set.’”

Local agent John Nichols of eXp Realty, who has a listing in the area, said the home’s value has likely risen over the past couple of years, since the market on the islands has been strong.



Sen. Elizabeth Warren and her husband, Harvard law professor Bruce H. Mann, bought this Cambridge, Mass., Victorian for $447,000 in 1995.
Photo: Simon Simard for The Wall Street Journal
Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Warren, a fervent advocate of data privacy, appears to be the only presidential candidate who has opted to have her house blurred out on Google Maps streetview feature. (Google allows users to submit a request to have a home, a car or themselves blurred for privacy.)

Sen. Warren and her husband, Harvard law professor Bruce H. Mann, bought their Cambridge, Mass., distinctive blue Mansard Victorian of nearly 4,000 square feet for $447,000 in 1995, records show. Since then, prices in the neighborhood have soared, thanks to low inventory, according to Gail Roberts, a local agent, who noted that Sen. Warren’s house appears to be beautifully maintained.

While Zillow estimates its value at $3.14 million, local agents estimated that it could trade for around $4 million. “In Cambridge, it’s the kind of house people go crazy for,” said Lauren Holleran of Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty.


Local agents said Sen. Warren’s house could be worth around $4 million.
Photo: AFP/Getty Images
The neighborhood is known for its mix of historic homes and condos, tree-lined streets, its proximity to Harvard University and for its literary connections, Ms. Roberts said. Homes there were once owned by the likes of Henry James, Robert Frost, T.S. Eliot and E.E. Cummings. Sen. Warren’s house is just down the street from the oldest remaining dwelling in the city of Cambridge; it was built in 1681.

One neighbor said Sen. Warren is a fixture in the neighborhood, and is often seen out walking with the couple’s dog, Bailey.

The senator and her husband also own a two-bedroom condo in Washington, D.C., which they bought for $740,000 in 2013. The two-bedroom, roughly 1,400-square-foot apartment is located in the Penn Quarter area in the east end of downtown D.C. Zillow now estimates its value at about $915,000.



Former Vice President Joe Biden’s primary home is in Wilmington, Del., in a neighborhood called Greenville.
Photo: Pictometry
Joe Biden
Former Vice President Joe Biden, once one of the poorest members of the U.S. Senate and at one point a self-described “Middle Class Joe,” has made millions since leaving office from book deals and speaking fees. That wealth growth is reflected in his real-estate choices.


Once one of the poorest members of the U.S. Senate, Vice President Biden made millions since leaving office from book deals and speaking fees.
Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
His primary home is in Wilmington, Del., in a tony neighborhood called Greenville. Local agent Stephen Mottola of Long & Foster Real Estate said the area is one of the most expensive in the state and is known as “château country,” thanks in large part to a group of large Colonial estates built by the wealthy du Pont family.

Vice President Biden’s is one of a handful of homes that overlook a man-made lake built by the du Ponts, Mr. Mottola said. A few years ago, Mr. Mottola sold the neighboring property, a former du Pont home that required a gut renovation, for $2.2 million. He said he wasn’t sure of the exact value of the Biden home but that it would likely “have a 2 in front of it.” Mr. Biden and his wife Jill Biden bought the site for $350,000 in 1997, records show, and built the home.

The Bidens are often seen around town and shop at the local grocery store, Janssen’s Market, which is a 5-minute drive from their house, he said. They also attend the St. Joseph on the Brandywine Roman Catholic Church nearby.


The Bidens own this vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Del., which they purchased for $2.74 million in 2017.
Photo: Google Maps
The Bidens also own a vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Del., which they purchased for $2.74 million in 2017. The three-story indigo blue property is on the edge of Cape Henlopen State Park, a quiet stretch of beach known as a fishing and hiking spot. It had six bedrooms, three indoor fireplaces, outdoor showers and a doggy-wash station, according to the listing.

Last year, the Bidens rented a large Georgian-style home in the D.C. area that once belonged to former Secretary of State Alexander Haig. The property still includes a living room with Mr. Haig’s original desk, according to a marketing video by TTR Sotheby’s International Realty. The home had been listed with a rental rate of $20,000 a month. The property, located in the wealthy community of McLean, Va., is Georgian in style with a red brick, columned facade and five bedrooms.


Last year, the Bidens rented this home in the D.C. area that once belonged to former Secretary of State Alexander Haig.
Photo: Pictometry
The home is owned by entrepreneur Mark Ein, who paid $4.25 million for it in 2016, records show. It is on the same strip as major compounds built by Steve Case and James V. Kimsey, the co-founders of AOL. Those properties sold for $43 million and $45 million, respectively, in the last two years. Former Vice President Biden is no longer renting the property, according to a person familiar with his activities.



Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg lives in this Beaux-Arts limestone townhouse, above. He also owns all but one of the six units in the home directly to its right, which has allowed him to expand his home horizontally.
Photo: Daniella Zalcman for The Wall Street Journal
Michael Bloomberg
Of the democratic front-runners, billionaire and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has the most valuable real-estate portfolio by far. It includes several homes on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, several properties in New York state, a townhouse in London, a waterfront estate in Bermuda, a condo in Vail, Colo., a house in the Hamptons and a horse farm in Wellington, Fla. His ownership of many of these properties was made public as part of financial disclosures during Mr. Bloomberg’s tenure as mayor, and is also confirmed through public records.


Mr. Bloomberg also has several properties in New York state, a townhouse in London, a waterfront estate in Bermuda, a condo in Vail, Colo., an estate in the Hamptons and a horse farm in Wellington, Fla.
Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
In New York, Mr. Bloomberg lives in a Beaux-Arts limestone townhouse that dates to the 1800s. He bought the roughly 7,500-square-foot house for $3.5 million in 1986. Since then, he has been buying up units in an adjacent townhouse from a series of individual owners, records show. He now owns all but one of the six, which has allowed him to expand his home horizontally into the building next door.

Designed by interiors guru Jamie Drake, whose projects include a renovation of New York mayoral residence Gracie Mansion, Mr. Bloomberg’s large home has a bedroom with a molded-plaster ceiling and a lobby paved with a rare Egyptian marble.


Ballyshear is a 25-acre estate in the Hamptons that dates to 1910 and overlooks Peconic Bay.
Photo: Pictometry
On East 79th Street, the home is less than a block from Central Park and just around the corner from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Richard Steinberg of Douglas Elliman, a local agent with high-end listings in the area, estimated that the combined property would be worth north of $50 million.

In 2011, Mr. Bloomberg bought a 33-acre estate in the North Salem area of Westchester, roughly 60 miles north of Manhattan, for $4.55 million, adding it to an adjacent 20-acre equestrian estate he bought in 2001. His daughter Georgina Bloomberg is a professional rider. A similarly sized, roughly 52-acre horse farm nearby is currently on the market for close to $7 million, according to the multiple listings service.

Mr. Bloomberg also owns a property in Armonk, N.Y., about 30 minutes away from his North Salem property, which he bought for $375,000 in 1993. He also has a home in Wellington, Fla., a horse-riding hub, which he bought for $8.9 million in 2006.


Mr. Bloomberg owns this property in Armonk, N.Y., about 30 minutes away from his North Salem property.
Photo: Pictometry

In 2011, Mr. Bloomberg bought this 33-acre estate in the North Salem area of Westchester for $4.55 million, adding it to an adjacent 20-acre equestrian estate he bought in 2001.
Photo: Pictometry
The same year he purchased the North Salem estate, Mr. Bloomberg picked up Ballyshear, a 25-acre estate in the Hamptons that dates to 1910 and overlooks Peconic Bay. Seeking $22 million at time of purchase, the property included a roughly 22,000-square-foot Georgian-style mansion with 11 bedrooms, marble floors and paneled libraries, according to the listing. Mr. Bloomberg has added several adjacent parcels of land since the original purchase in the popular vacation spot, records show.

In Vail, Mr. Bloomberg owns a four-bedroom apartment at the Mountain Haus condos, a hotel-style condo with views of the surrounding mountains. A five-bedroom unit at the building is currently on the market for $4.35 million, according to Zillow.

Overseas, Mr. Bloomberg, who travels frequently to the U.K. and has received an honorary knighthood from the queen, has a seven-bedroom redbrick mansion along the River Thames in the Chelsea neighborhood, which he bought for about $25 million in 2015.


Mr. Bloomberg has this seven-bedroom redbrick mansion along the River Thames in the Chelsea neighborhood, which he bought for about $25 million in 2015.
Photo: Google Maps
Once the home of novelist George Eliot, the 18th-century property has a dramatic central staircase topped with cornices and a Baroque mural of Venus by Sir James Thornhill, the artist who painted the dome at St. Paul’s Cathedral.

In Bermuda, Mr. Bloomberg demolished an oceanfront house in the Tucker’s Town area in the late-1990s and replaced it with a much-larger property with seven bedrooms. The property, which is near the Mid Ocean golf club where Mr. Bloomberg is known to play golf, has its own private beachfront. John Sinclair, a local agent, said homes in the area range in price from $4 million to more than $35 million.

“The waterfront and beachfront properties on the narrow Tucker’s Town peninsula are widely considered the most prime and rarely come up for sale,” he said, noting that the location is appealing because the amenities of the Mid Ocean Club are just a short walk or golf cart ride away.


He also has this home in Wellington, Fla., a horse-riding hub, which he bought for $8.9 million in 2006.
Photo: Pictometry
The White House
President Trump

Prior to taking office, President Trump’s main home was a triplex penthouse atop his eponymous tower on New York’s Fifth Avenue, which is decked out in diamonds, gold and marble, with Italian frescos on the ceilings. Similarly sized New York City apartments have asked as much as $100 million, according to StreetEasy.

President Trump’s portfolio also includes a 213-acre estate outside of Bedford in Westchester County known as Seven Springs. The property includes a 13-bedroom mansion but is also zoned for the construction of many more homes. Mr. Trump bought the home for $7.5 million in 1995. He then famously allowed then-Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to pitch a Bedouin-style tent on the property when he was in town to address the United Nations General Assembly.

Mr. Trump also owns a number of units at Trump Park Avenue, which he has rented, as well as a couple of private homes near his 17-acre Mar-a-Lago country club in Palm Beach, Fla., which he calls the “Winter White House.” Mr. Trump paid approximately $10 million in the 1980s for Mar-a-Lago and all its furnishings, a small fraction of the cost of building the estate.

An estate in Charlottesville, Va., that was once home to media billionaire John Kluge and his wife, Patricia Kluge, and which President Trump purchased about a decade ago, is now used as a boutique hotel by the Trump Organization.

Mike Pence, Vice President

Mike Pence doesn’t currently own a home. He lives in the official residence of the vice president in Washington, D.C., which dates back to 1898. His spokeswoman said he owned two homes, one in Virginia and one in Indiana, but sold them when he became governor of Indiana. As governor, he lived in the official governor’s mansion in Indianapolis, an English Tudor-style property dating to 1928, according to the website of current Gov. Eric J. Holcomb.

Write to Katherine Clarke at katherine.clarke@wsj.com

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In Washington, D.C., the couple owns a roughly 900-square-foot townhouse (Bernie)

Holy shit he paid that much for basically an apartment...