The iconic Los Angeles mansion that took center stage in Will Smith‘s hit sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” is available to buy for the first time in 50 years, to the tune of $29.5 million—having been listed by a real estate agent who was “born and raised” inside the home.
For the last five decades, the property has been owned by the same family, who purchased it in 1978, 12 years before they were approached by producers seeking a dwelling to serve as the home of the Banks family in “The Fresh Prince.”
The sitcom, which debuted in 1990 and starred Smith in the lead role, alongside Alfonso Ribeiro, Janet Hubert, and James Avery, focused on a young man’s move from West Philadelphia to the tony community of Bel-Air, where he moved in with his wealthy relatives—putting the family firmly in the public eye.
Ironically, the home itself is not located in Bel-Air, but rather 15 minutes down the road in Brentwood, where it was originally built in 1937.
Four decades later, it was snapped up by the family of Douglas Elliman agent Sasha Rahban, who is now co-listing the property with Josh Altman, of “Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles” fame.
“We’ve owned it since 1978. I was born and raised in the house,” Rahban told Mansion Global. “In 1990 we were approached for this new TV show.”
He revealed that, after choosing the home—despite it being located in the wrong locale—producers arrived with a crew of cameramen in order to shoot the property’s exterior, which would feature throughout the series’ six-season run.
“[They] selected our house, even though it wasn’t in Bel-Air,” Rahban said. “They did a few days of filming the exterior, the pool, the front, and Will Smith came. We didn’t know how big the show was going to be.”
While the home’s exterior featured prominently in the sitcom, the interiors were actually shot on a set—meaning that Rahban and his family weren’t forced to leave their abode for months at a time.
As a result, they had no clue what the show would be like, or how the faked interior of their property would appear.
“The first time I watched with my family on Monday at 8 p.m.,” he recalled. “We had no idea what the show would be about. They kept showing the house over and over again, it was very exciting.”
Rahban added that the property “started to become recognized throughout the world,” joking that it made him the most popular kid in school, while also turning the dwelling itself into a tourist hot spot, where there were “always bus and celebrity tours coming by … and people coming by in droves.”
Although the home isn’t located in Bel-Air, Rahban insisted that Brentwood Park boasts plenty of “huge houses, huge lots.”
“It’s where a lot of celebrities live,” he added. “The lot that the house is on is one of the biggest in the neighborhood, almost an acre, a corner lot on one of the best streets.”
Rahban revealed that the sitcom will add a star value in selling the home.
“I do think there’s going to be value in the ‘Fresh Prince’ behind it. From the feedback that I’ve gotten, it seems like people are very intrigued by this home,” he added.
The six-bedroom, seven-and-a-half-bathroom home spans “10,000 square feet and rests on an extraordinary 38,510-square-foot corner lot.
The home has been updated and remodeled multiple times over the past decades, blending classic East Coast Georgian architecture with the scale and presence of a true Los Angeles landmark,” as per the listing.
And, the home isn’t much more than a Hollywood backdrop, according to the listing, which reads, “Beyond its cultural significance, the estate offers rare scale, privacy, and opportunity in Brentwood Park, surrounded by some of the city’s most notable estates.
“The expansive grounds allow for endless possibilities, whether preserving its historic charm, further enhancing the existing residence, or re-imagining the property for a new generation.”
The listing also describes the home as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a true Los Angeles legend.”
According to TMZ, the stunning property is still being used as a filming location for a Netflix series