THE West Texas home where both U.S. President Bushes once lived is for sale on eBay, the Internet auction site.

　　Asking price for this little bit of history? Just US$250,000.

　　Mackey Ervin, who is selling the house for mother-in-law Wilma Haynes, said Friday the comfortable suburban home built by former President George Bush and his wife, Barbara, in 1958 when they lived in the oil town of Midland was drawing lots of interest.

　　The Bushes and their children, including current President George W. Bush, stayed in the four-bedroom, three-bath home for two years before moving to Houston.

　　"Some people would like to own it just to say they own a house where two presidents lived," said Ervin.

　　The 310-square-meter house, which backs up to a park where young George W. once played baseball, is worth only about US$100,000 in the Midland housing market.

　　By posting it on eBay and tapping into the national market, Ervin said he hoped to get more money for Haynes. He is seeking US$250,000 and, unlike most eBay sellers, is not taking bids.

　　Haynes bought it from the Bushes in 1960 and lived in it until her own recent move to Houston, where Ervin and his wife, Ann, have their home.

　　She is selling it to get money for her retirement, Ervin said.

　　Despite their short time in the home, it has sentimental value to the elder Bushes, who stopped by several years ago to see it. The house was little changed from when they lived in it, Ervin said.

　　"She (Haynes) showed them the house and they were real pleased," he said.

　　Since the house was in a residential area, it was unlikely it would be turned into a museum, Ervin said.

　　Besides, a humbler home where the Bushes lived when they first moved to Midland in 1949 is already a museum and makes for better political theatre.

　　"It's a lot smaller and I think it's kind of an Abe Lincoln thing, where it looks like they came up from a log cabin," Ervin said.