$1.2M house Joe Biden sold in 1996 worth $1.65M three decades later
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Joe Biden sold a house to a supporter for $1.2 million in 1996 – but 27 years later it is estimated to be worth just $1.65 million, DailyMail.com can reveal. The current appraisal raised questions about whether Biden received a high price for the property from a donor nearly three decades ago.
![$1.2M house Joe Biden sold in 1996 worth $1.65M three decades later 2 It was bought by a credit card company executive who also hired Biden's son Hunter the same year and then paid him for years. Biden bought the 10,000-square-foot mansion in Greenville, Delaware in 1974 for $185,000. At the time, he had recently become a senator with a salary of $42,500. He then sold the house in 1996 for $1.2 million, more than six times what he paid for it.](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1699567436_378_12M-house-Joe-Biden-sold-in-1996-worth-165M-three.jpg)
It was bought by a credit card company executive who also hired Biden’s son Hunter the same year and then paid him for years. Biden bought the 10,000-square-foot mansion in Greenville, Delaware in 1974 for $185,000. At the time, he had recently become a senator with a salary of $42,500. He then sold the house in 1996 for $1.2 million, more than six times what he paid for it.
![$1.2M house Joe Biden sold in 1996 worth $1.65M three decades later 4 However, according to real estate website Redfin, it is currently only worth $1.6 million in 2023. Zillow currently has it valued at $2 million. Both Redin and Zillow have an average error rate in valuations of only about 7 percent. Delaware's housing market has nearly tripled since 1996, according to data from the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency. That would indicate that if the house was worth $1.2 million in 1996, it should be worth well over $3 million now.](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1699567438_731_12M-house-Joe-Biden-sold-in-1996-worth-165M-three.jpg)
However, according to real estate website Redfin, it is currently only worth $1.6 million in 2023. Zillow currently has it valued at $2 million. Both Redin and Zillow have an average error rate in valuations of only about 7 percent. Delaware’s housing market has nearly tripled since 1996, according to data from the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency. That would indicate that if the house was worth $1.2 million in 1996, it should be worth well over $3 million now.
![$1.2M house Joe Biden sold in 1996 worth $1.65M three decades later 6 Even at the higher current estimate of $2 million, if its value were tracked with the rest of the Delaware housing market, it is expected to have been worth about $700,000 in 1996. Built in 1930, the home features five bedrooms, three fireplaces, a colonial-style exterior, a swimming pool and a pool house, set on two acres.](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1699567439_614_12M-house-Joe-Biden-sold-in-1996-worth-165M-three.jpg)
Even at the higher current estimate of $2 million, if its value were tracked with the rest of the Delaware housing market, it is expected to have been worth about $700,000 in 1996. Built in 1930, the home features five bedrooms, three fireplaces, a colonial-style exterior, a swimming pool and a pool house, set on two acres.
![$1.2M house Joe Biden sold in 1996 worth $1.65M three decades later 8 Biden called it](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1699567441_375_12M-house-Joe-Biden-sold-in-1996-worth-165M-three.jpg)
Biden called it “The Station” and it was the headquarters for his first presidential campaign in 1988, when he dropped out after being caught plagiarizing British politician Neil Kinnock in a speech. The story of how Biden sold the mansion was a minor controversy in Delaware politics in the 1990s, when he was a senator. He sold it for his asking price of $1.2 million to the vice chairman of credit card company MBNA, then the largest employer in Delaware.
![$1.2M house Joe Biden sold in 1996 worth $1.65M three decades later 10 The same year, MBNA employees contributed $62,850 to Biden for his Senate re-election campaign, and the homebuyer donated the maximum $2,000. Also that year, Biden's son Hunter was hired by MBNA and became senior vice president. Later, between 2001 and 2005, Hunter was rehired by the company as a consultant with a monthly fee. During those years, Joe Biden supported new bankruptcy legislation in Congress that would benefit credit card companies, even though it was opposed by a majority of Democrats in the Senate, including Barack Obama. At the time of the controversial 1996 house sale, a pollster for Biden's Republican opponent in his Senate re-election race suggested that the price paid for the house had been too high. This was vociferously denied by both Biden and MBNA. Read the full story: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12681367/Joe-Biden-Hunter-house-million-money-delaware.html?ito=msngallery](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1699567442_46_12M-house-Joe-Biden-sold-in-1996-worth-165M-three.jpg)
The same year, MBNA employees contributed $62,850 to Biden for his Senate re-election campaign, and the homebuyer donated the maximum $2,000. Also that year, Biden’s son Hunter was hired by MBNA and became senior vice president. Later, between 2001 and 2005, Hunter was rehired by the company as a consultant with a monthly fee. During those years, Joe Biden supported new bankruptcy legislation in Congress that would benefit credit card companies, even though it was opposed by a majority of Democrats in the Senate, including Barack Obama. At the time of the controversial 1996 house sale, a pollster for Biden’s Republican opponent in his Senate re-election race suggested that the price paid for the house had been too high. This was vociferously denied by both Biden and MBNA. Read the full story: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12681367/Joe-Biden-Hunter-house-million-money-delaware.html?ito=msngallery
![$1.2M house Joe Biden sold in 1996 worth $1.65M three decades later 12 Want more stories like this from the Daily Mail? For more news you need, visit our profile page here and hit the follow button above.](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/1699567444_134_12M-house-Joe-Biden-sold-in-1996-worth-165M-three.jpg)
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