OMAHA — The Omaha home that was the birthplace of Warren Buffett’s business is hitting the market just before Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting.
The three-bedroom, four-bathroom home, which sits on the northwest corner of 52nd Street and Underwood Avenue, will be priced at $799,000 when it goes on sale April 26.
Buffett lived in the house with his first wife, Susan, and their young children in the mid-1950s.
In Alice Schroeder’s book, “The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life,” Buffett said, “I rented a house at 5202 Underwood in Omaha for $175 a month. We would live on $12,000 a year. My capital would grow.”
Warren and Susan Buffett with their daughter Susie and son Howard at their home at 5202 Underwood Ave. in 1956. The house is scheduled to go on the market later this month.
The house was built in 1918 by architect Frederick A. Henninger, who built several houses, apartments and commercial buildings in the early 20th century, said Jessica Dembinski, a real estate agent with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services.
In 2019, Buffett visited the Underwood house with two of his children, Susie and Howard.
During the visit, Buffett recalled the “little room” of the master bedroom as the workspace where, at age 20, “the first partnership was started.”
Buffett then signed the room’s arched doorway, writing: “The birthplace of Buffett Associates, May 1956.”
The door, and Buffett’s inscription, are still intact on the house, said Dembinski, who is the house’s listing agent.
The door to the office where Warren Buffett founded Buffett Associates, which the legendary investor signed in early 2019.
James and Nancy Monen bought the house in 2005 for $397,000, according to records from the Douglas County Assessor’s Office. They are selling, Dembinski said, to take advantage of the current housing market. Sellers declined to comment.
“They knew it was a good time to sell,” the real estate agent said.
Homebuyers in Omaha and across the country have been struggling with a tight housing market. At one point this year, there were fewer than 350 homes on the market in all of Douglas and Sarpy counties.
Dembinski said homes for sale are still in short supply. Homes that are listed sell fast and often receive multiple offers.
Although interest is already high, Dembinski said the owners of the home at 52nd and Underwood won’t consider any offers until the home is officially listed for showings. Dembinski has received several phone calls about the house, both from Omahans and from people across the country.
The 3,300-square-foot home will be listed ahead of Berkshire’s annual shareholder meeting, to be held April 30 at CHI Health Center Omaha. The activities related to the event take place throughout that weekend.
To prevent viewers from trying to tour the house, Dembinski said pre-approval or proof of funds is required before showings.
Nancy Monen told the Omaha World-Herald in a previous article that she and her husband had rented the house to a trio attending a Berkshire annual meeting. She raised $3,000.
“I’m crazy for not capitalizing on that,” she said at the time. “Warren would want me to.”
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Buffett, who still lives in Omaha, hasn’t moved far. He now lives in a house near 55th and Farnam streets.
Monen said he was unaware of Buffett’s connection to the house when he first visited the two-story Tudor. He said that he loved the clapboard ceiling and the charm of the corner house, and that he would have bought it anyway.
It’s hard to say, Dembinski said, whether the house’s history with Buffett will account for its sale.
“She’s definitely an icon here in the United States and really around the world,” he said. “It may generate interest, but it may also end up going to a local Omaha family looking to take advantage of the amazing location and the fact that Dundee is a super popular part of town.”
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Photos: The Omaha home where Warren Buffett started his business
buffet house
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The driveway of the house at 5202 Underwood Ave. The house where Warren Buffett started his business will go on the market later this month.
buffet house
Updated
The house at 5202 Underwood Ave. is where Warren Buffett started his business. He is scheduled to hit the market listed at $799,000 later this month.
buffet house
Updated
The house where Warren Buffett started his business is going up for sale just before Berkshire’s annual shareholder meeting.
buffet house
Updated
The dining room of the house at 5202 Underwood Ave. The house, where Warren Buffett started his business, will hit the market on April 26.
buffet house
Updated
The house at 5202 Underwood Ave. is where Warren Buffett started his business in the mid-1950s. It is expected to go on the market later this month.
buffet house
Updated
The kitchen of the house at 5202 Underwood Ave. The house, where Warren Buffett once lived, will go on sale in late April.
buffet house
Updated
The kitchen of the house at 5202 Underwood Ave. The 3,300-square-foot house, where Warren Buffett once lived, is scheduled to go on the market later this month.
buffet house
Updated
One of the bedrooms at 5202 Underwood Ave. leads to an office. The small room was where Warren Buffett started his business. On a visit to the house in 2019, he signed the office door.
buffet house
Updated
Warren Buffett signed the arched door of the office where he started his business in the 1950s. The house is scheduled to go on the market just before Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting.
buffet house
Updated
A home office at 5202 Underwood Ave. is where Warren Buffett started his business. The entry bears his signature and the words: “The Birthplace of Buffett Associates, May 1956.”