Ron Howard’s former spot in Encino trades hands for $3.4 million

In Encino, a stylish ranch-style home that was owned by Ron Howard during the “Happy Days” era has sold for $3.4 million — a considerable jump from the $808,000 the filmmaker sold it for in 1986.

In Rancho Estates, the two-story spot was built by Robert Byrd, a noted architect active from the 1920s to the 1970s who specialized in creating indoor-outdoor spaces. This house is no different, as French doors connect the open floor plan to a grassy backyard with a stone-lined swimming pool and spa.

Inside, dark hardwood beams and floors offset crisp shades of white in the common spaces. There’s a spacious living room with a whitewashed brick fireplace, a rounded dining room with leaded windows and a rotunda-style lounge with a wet bar.

Five bedrooms and seven bathrooms complete the 5,900-square-foot interior, including a master suite with a sitting room and custom shower. Outside, the landscaped grounds feature a pond, multiple patios and a guesthouse.

Records show Howard paid just over half a million for the home in 1979, around the same time he started directing movies.

The 66-year-old actor turned director gained fame in the 1960s for his role as Opie on “The Andy Griffith Show.” By the late 1970s, he made his directorial debut with the comedy “Grand Theft Auto.”

As a filmmaker, Howard has scores of credits and a pair of Academy Awards for his 2001 film “A Beautiful Mind.” His other movies include “Apollo 13,” “Cinderella Man” and “Rush.”

It’s far from his biggest estate. That title belongs to this 32-acre compound in Connecticut, which he sold in 2014 for $27.5 million.

Craig Knizek of the Agency held the listing. Denise Snanoudj, also with the Agency, represented the buyer.