Donald Trump’s childhood home in Queens will list for $2.3M

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Not every house on the block can say it was the home of a future president.

In the quiet, leafy pocket of Jamaica Estates in Queens, a Tudor-style house once occupied by Donald J. Trump as a toddler — until he was 4 years old — is hitting the market for $2.3 million, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The five-bedroom residence was built in 1940 by his father and developer Fred Trump, and it served as the family’s first base in the neighborhood before they moved to a larger place nearby.

The house, in recent years, has had an odd history. 

The Tudor-style Jamaica Estates house where Donald Trump spent his early childhood is hitting the market again for $2.3 million after an extensive eight-month renovation. Stephen Yang
The home was built in 1940 by his father, Fred Trump. Facebook/Donald J. Trump

After years of neglect and a burst pipe that left the interior full of mold, the property was sold in February for $835,000 to developer Tommy Lin, The Post previously reported.

Lin gutted the place down to the studs, restoring it during an eight-month renovation. 

“There was no water in the house, no power,” Lin told the Journal. “It was not livable.” 

The structure’s original brick and stucco façade remains, but nearly everything inside was rebuilt.

Lin says his purchase wasn’t about politics. Instead, he’s betting that the home’s history and ZIP code will resonate with buyers. 

The five-bedroom home has changed hands multiple times, including a high-profile flip on Inauguration Day 2017 and a brief stint as a Trump-themed Airbnb. Paramount Realty USA
After the property fell into severe disrepair, developer Tommy Lin purchased it for $835,000 and gutted the mold-damaged interior while preserving the exterior. Paramount Realty USA

Jamaica Estates is one of Queens’ more established and expensive enclaves, with recent listings regularly breaking the $3 million mark. 

A six-bedroom home in the neighborhood sold for about $4 million earlier this year. Homes under $1 million are increasingly rare, according to listing agent Jevon Gratineau of Brown Harris Stevens.

This is not the first time the property has drawn speculation-driven attention. 

On the night of the 2016 presidential election, Manhattan investor Michael Davis bought the home for $1.39 million just hours before the final results came in. He wagered that, if Trump won, the house’s value would surge. He was correct: on Inauguration Day in 2017, he sold it to a buyer from China for $2.14 million.

Davis later leased the home back for $4,000 a month and briefly turned it into an Airbnb, outfitting it with Trump-themed décor and memorabilia. 

“The only thing to read in the house was ‘The Art of the Deal,’” he said, recalling the staging. 

Donald Trump with his father, Fred Trump. WireImage
Lin invested roughly $500,000 into modern upgrades and is now banking on the home’s presidential provenance and the neighborhood’s strong luxury market to attract buyers, as Jamaica Estates continues to see sales in the multi-million-dollar range. Paramount Realty USA

At one point, a plaque claimed the bedroom had likely been the site of Trump’s conception. The Airbnb was booked “almost indefinitely,” Davis said, until a rental to Oxfam during the U.N. General Assembly drew attention to the refugee crisis 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,” he said. He still keeps a custom bobblehead of the house on his desk as a souvenir.

When the short-term rental experiment ended, the property sat unused and quickly deteriorated.

By the time Lin acquired it this year, the basement had been overtaken by mold from a burst pipe, and the roof needed replacement.

It also became overrun with about 20 to 30 stray cats.

The former sun room. Paramount Realty USA
The former bedroom before its renovation. Paramount Realty USA

“A beautiful house was left abandoned and no one took care of it for all this time,” a peeved neighbor who requested anonymity previously 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.”

Lin estimates he put about $500,000 into the renovation, bringing his total cost above $1.3 million.

The finished home spans about 2,500 square feet above grade, plus nearly 1,000 square feet in the basement, arranged over four levels. 

A sunroom off the kitchen looks out onto the backyard, and an old wood stove believed to be original remains in one corner. Lin incorporated updated touches such as smart entry hardware and smart toilets.

The Trump Organization did not respond to a request for comment.

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