Fayetteville castle set to be auctioned

A hilltop castle in Northwest Arkansas, previously listed for sale for millions of dollars, is up for auction today.

The Dromborg is made up of 4,000 tons of stone and sits on 40 forested mountainside acres in Fayetteville, according to Katherine Hudson, the property’s listing agent. It was completed in 2008.

Concierge Auctions plans to auction the property over a three-day period: Bidding opens at 4 p.m. today and will end at the same time Thursday, said Mitch Abundis, a project sales manager for the company.

Prospective buyers can place their bids online, Abundis said. There is no required minimum bid for the auction, and the castle will be sold to the highest bidder, no matter how low the price.

“It’s a very, very unique property,” Abundis said. “It’s a great investment opportunity, and with the auction it’s an incredible chance to name your own price [for] a luxury home.”

Hudson, a real estate agent for Keller Williams Realty, said she has been working with the couple who built the home, Bruce and Joan Johnson, to sell it for about three years. The home has been on the market for about eight years.

This, Hudson said, is typical of properties of such size and value. A Facebook page for the Dromborg still lists the castle for $9.7 million.

“There’s just so few buyers,” she said. “It’s not even 1% of the market.”

According to a website for the property, the castle stones were hewn and fitted together stone by stone, with solid oak, cherry and walnut throughout the building’s 12,000-square-foot interior. The property’s name comes from a Swedish word that roughly translates to “Dreams the size of mountains,” Hudson said.

Bruce Johnson is Swedish, according to Hudson, and together he and his wife own White River Hardwoods in Fayetteville.

“It’s a fabulous property,” Hudson said of the castle. “I’m excited for the auction. I’m very excited for them.”