When Scott and Barbara Lloyd agreed to let filmmakers shoot scenes for The Silence of the Lambs in their Layton, Pennsylvania home, they didn’t realize the decision would have such a market effect on the value of their home more than 15 years later.
Although Buffalo Bill first appeared on the silver screen in 1991, the Lloyds have found that the gruesome scenes he depicted may have tainted their three-story Victorian residence.
The couple retired and are looking to downsize to a ranch. They listed the house for US$300,000 last summer, but have since lowered their asking price to $250,000 due to a lack of interest from buyers, The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.
"We're finally starting to see a little bit of motion," Scott Lloyd told the newspaper.
The Lloyds couldn’t ask for more promotional activity: when they announced that they wanted to sell the house, such media outlets as The Huffington Post and the Wall Street Journal contacted them to learn more about sale. Moreover, it was the second most viewed home on realtor.com last year.
The attention has not translated to a closing, however.
“The fact that a home gets a ton of publicity doesn't necessarily add up to a quick sale,” Erik Gunther, senior editor and unique home expert at realtor.com, told The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “Just because I want to gawk at something doesn't mean I want to buy it.”
Still, Scott and Barbara Lloyd admit that the house does face other setbacks, including its remote location in a small village, and the fact that it only offers one bathroom alongside its four bedrooms.
Fortunately for them, however, the house is not equipped with a basement dungeon – those scenes were filmed on a studio soundstage.
While the Lloyds hope that the price reduction will generate new leads, the couple’s realtor has expressed some exasperation with the undertaking.
“We know there are people interested,” said Dianne Wilk, RE/MAX Select Realty, “but it comes down to who wants a home like that?
