Discussion Post: 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:
1) 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.
2) 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.
3) 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?
4) Assume the growth rate that you calculated in #1 prevailed since 1795. Calculate the price of the house in 1795.
5) 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.
6) 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.
7) How much did the growth rate change and why?
8) 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.
The response must include a reference list. One-inch margins, double-space, Using Times New Roman 12 pnt font and APA style of writing and citations.
References
• Alexandria Living (2020, July 24). After Two Years on the Market, Robert E. Lee's Boyhood Home Sells for $4.7 Million.
• Zap, Claudine (2019, October 4). Price of General Robert E. Lee's boyhood home slashed to $5.6 million.
• Trapasso, C. (2018, April 3). Own Some Civil War-Era History: Gen. Robert E. Lee's Boyhood Home is for Sale.
• Leayman, E. (2019, March 26). Robert E. Lee Boyhood Home Listed for Reduced Price.