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Cost of a House Made of Money? Try $441 Million

Many Americans view their homes as investments or stores of value. But what would it cost to actually build your home out of money?
How many dollar bills, literally, would it take to build a home?
How many dollar bills, literally, would it take to build a home?Redfin
/ Source: CNBC.com

Even after the recession, many Americans view their homes as investments or stores of value. But what would it cost to actually build your home out of money?

The folks at Redfin have come up with an answer. The real estate brokerage figured out the dimensions of the average American home—two stories—and then gave it 8-inch-thick exterior walls, 5-inch-thick interior walls and a roof that's 3 inches thick.

They then calculated how many dollar bills it would take to build it all. Answer: 441,435,440 dollar bills.

As Redfin says, "there might be a few billionaires who have enough cash to try this at home." But given that dollar bills don't hold up too well in the rain or wind, there are better ways for billionaires to spend their real estate cash. Like that $195 million estate in Beverly Hills, California, made out of good old-fashioned wood, concrete, steel and gold. It's more weatherproof—and less than half the price.

-- Robert Frank, CNBC