Elmhurst Home Spikes To $3.5 Million: Assessor

ELMHURST, IL – Many Elmhurst residents are accustomed to seeing the assessed market value of their houses rise, but not $1.3 million in one year.

But a big hike was expected for 140 Elmwood Terrace.

It is owned by Tina Trahan, who grew up in Elmhurst. She is perhaps best known for buying "The Brady Bunch" house in Los Angeles in 2023.

Eight years ago, the house at Elmwood Terrace was torn down and replaced

In 2023, the York Township assessor put the home's value at $1.7 million, down from $2.9 million a year earlier.

It moved up to $2.2 million in 2024 and recently spiked to $3.5 million.

Asked about the change, Trahan said in an email, "I don't pay attention to the assessed values of my homes. I'm okay with whatever they think I should pay."

Elmhurst native Tina Trahan stands in the doorway of "The Brady Bunch" house in 2023. (Courtesy of Tina Trahan)

After the house was built, the York Township assessor treated it as if it were finished. On the outside, it appeared that way.

But in 2022, Trahan sent interior photos to the assessor. The home was not done. The stairway was not built. Toilets and sinks were missing. And the house had no certificate of occupancy, the assessor's office said.

So the assessor dropped the value of the house.

In an interview last year, Trahan, who lives in California, said the contractor gave her the impression the project was done. It was not.

Trahan hired a new contractor, who she said saved the day. The interior was completed in November 2023, she said.

She sued the original contractor. The case is ongoing, according to court records.

In 2023, Trahan paid $3.2 million for the Los Angeles house that appeared in exterior shots in the 1970s sitcom, "The Brady Bunch." That was down from the original price of $5.5 million.

In 2019, the child stars participated in the remodeling of the house on HGTV's "A Very Brady Renovation." The show was filmed on a set, but HGTV renovated the inside of the actual house on Dilling Street to appear as if it were the Brady house, with all the quirks of '70s-style furniture and interior design.