Rowling’s home sold to Scottish businessman
The former Edinburgh home of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling was sold to a Scottish-based businessman for an undisclosed sum.
The Victorian two-story, eight-bedroom town house in the upmarket Merchiston area of the Scottish capital stands in its own grounds with a walled garden. It sold after 21 days of going on the market on Sept. 20 for offers over $3.6 million, realtor Rettie & Co. said Saturday. The agent didn’t disclose the price.
The property, a 30-minute walk from Edinburgh Castle, attracted more than 16,000 unique visitors to Rettie’s website with 65 percent coming from outside the U.K., the majority from the U.S. and Asia, the agent said. The only people who viewed the house were Scottish-based businessmen, it said.
Rowling, 47, started writing the Harry Potter boy wizard series in cafes in Edinburgh, staying in the city after the books turned her into a multimillionaire. The first one was published in June 1997.
The author, who moved into a new home in the Scottish capital last year, bought the top half of the house in 1999 before purchasing the ground floor from her neighbour and returning it to a two-story town house. Built in 1880, the house includes an annex that’s been turned into an office.
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