May 28, 2004

The Perfect House?
Every once in awhile on the bi-weekly house circuit I come across a house that strikes me as exactly the right place to spend the rest of my life (and all of my lottery winnings) in. Helen Maher has just listed such a home, at 2 Broad Road in Belle Haven. It is a 1932 English Manor style building, with a brick red Ludovici tile roof, great chimneys and an incredible yard of 1.5 acres. There are lawns, a tennis court that blends into the landscape, somehow, and a beautiful pool. Then there is the exquisite garden, with a fountain and a potting cottage (with working fireplace) that would look equally at home in Williamsburg. Inside the main house everything that needed to be updated and renovated has been attended to, including a very modern kitchen, and everything that should have been left well enough alone: the herringboned-patterned oak floors, the high ceilings, the gracious floor plan, for instance, remains untouched. This is just a classic house, built during an era when our town was being shaped by great architecture. That era is long past, as anyone who has seen the latest stone monstrosity going up on North Street will attest, and I fear that the people who will appreciate this house are all leaving town. Our newer arrivals seem to prefer big, flashy and pretentious and sneer at hovels comprising a mere 5,600 square feet. But perhaps someone who grew up in town and still remembers its grace and charm will return to raise a family in this house. I think it is very well priced at $7,195,000; let’s hope there’s at least one young investment banker out there who agrees.
Premature
My guess last week that the market was slipping into a buyers mode was instantly disproved. Twenty-three houses went to contract, including a $9,000,000 + home that sat for just eleven days and the Jay Haverson-designed lake front house on Stanwich, asking nearly six million dollars. Twenty-three contracts don’t tell the whole story, as I discovered when trying to line up homes to show a client in the two million dollar range: just about every one still listed as active has an accepted offer, and will be reported as under contract as soon as the paperwork is completed. If your house isn’t among them, may I suggest, again, that you lower your price? One property that might benefit from this approach is a new listing in Riverside asking more than $2.5 million. That’s close to what two nearby homes sold for recently but they were new construction while this is being sold “as is”, a Realtor’s euphemism for “tear-down”. I am wrong often enough that I wouldn’t dare say that this property will never sell for anything approaching its asking price, but I’ll certainly be very, very surprised.
Oh oh
I am told that the Greenwich Board of Realtors wants to crack down on real estate agents who show up in sandals at open houses. I believe I am the only male agent who engages in such sartorial slumming so I am flattered by the attention, I guess. I am also reminded of Mark Twain’s response when being threatened with a tarring and feathering and a ride out of town on a rail: “If it weren’t for the honor and the glory of the thing, I’d just as soon walk.” Still, I think I’ll wait for the Board to extend its ban to both sexes before complying. Lest anyone accuse me of being inflexible, look for me to begin wearing bright red toenail polish; I do so want to blend in.
Memorial Day
What little is left of a small town atmosphere in Greenwich will be on display Monday in the Old Greenwich Memorial Day Parade. Anyone who wants to march can do so, and the route is filled with kids on bicycles, Brownies, Little Leaguers and, always, the Volunteer Fireman’s band. It’s the perfect place to see those neighbors and acquaintances for whom a once-a-year encounter is just right. Don’t miss it.
New Business
I see that a new gourmet ice cream store is about to open next to the Outdoor Trader’s building on Route One. There isn’t much parking in front, and I wondered at the longevity of a business dependent on a steady stream of customers until I remembered that our Planning & Zoning Board of Appeal’s Chairman, Donald Kiefer, has his law office upstairs. Can Don’s patronage outweigh the lack of parking for everyone else? I’ll keep an eye on his waistline and report back.

May 21, 2004

History, Amended
I recently wrote that Joe Barbari’s 718 North Street listing had been built in the 20’s by the head of the American Water Company. That information was corrected in a phone call from Mrs. Owen Hunwick, a delightful long time Greenwich resident who grew up next door. The house in question, according to Mrs. Hunwick, was built by the Chapman family who, although not affiliated with the water company, leased its land across the street for what was supposed to be ninety-nine years. The Chapmans lost their money during the Depression and moved away. The water company took back the leased land and sold it to the Babcocks and they, in turn, eventually sold the property to our town. Mrs. Hunwick is filled with great stories about growing up in the Back Country, including riding her horse along Merritt Parkway when it was still under construction and unpaved. Even after it was built, she says, traffic was so light that cars and horses crossed it at will. She has given me a picture of the old mill that the Babcocks built. I explored that mill shortly after Greenwich acquired the land and, for the record, it was not I who burned it down. I don’t know who runs the oral history project at the Library but someone there should make an appointment to chat up Mrs. Hunwick; she’s a treasure.
Market Conditions
There’s a general sense among many of us that the market is swinging away from sellers and towards buyers. That happens every year, of course, but the shift has been accelerated, perhaps, by the nearly one point rise in mortgage rates. A one point rise reduces buying power by ten percent—buyers can pay banks or they can pay sellers but as one payment goes up … . There are still a few bidding wars flaring up but those are far outnumbered by price reductions: fifty-six in the past ten days, including a couple of million dollar loppings and one six million dollar whack. Despite all this trimming, we still have ten properties priced at $19,000,000 and above available for purchase. Dig out your wallet, man!
In The Lesser Ranges
Houses continue to sell, even in what I consider to be the high end of the market. Five houses, each priced at $5.5 million and above, went to contract last week and I hear rumors of an accepted offer on a nearly $10.0 million dollar home that was on the market for just a few days. Of note for in-town residents is the accepted offer, in just thirteen days, on 107 Patterson Avenue, asking $3.3 million. This was Maureen Crumbine’s listing and it was a peach. A 1902 colonial, renovated in 1999 and sitting on 0.72 of an acre, with a carriage/garage/barn/kid’s hangout in back. I wasn’t at all surprised that it went so quickly, but its sale testifies to the rapid appreciation of house prices in this area of town over the past few years.
52 Burying Hill Road
This property, listed by Paul Larson, has been on the market for two months but I only saw it last week at a broker open house (which is why it’s always a good idea to hold several open houses: often, agents can’t get to every house in a single morning). I liked it very much. It is a contemporary, which could easily be changed with a coat of shingles and some new windows, but priced at just about its land value. And it is some land. Almost four acres with lawns, woods and a stream leading to a pond and waterfall. The house is very livable as is and in move-in condition but if its style doesn’t suit you, change it; the land makes it all worthwhile.
Two Gems
Two very nice houses were listed for sale last week in what passes for the lower end of our market. Kathy Adams has 59 Valleywood Road at $1,075,000 and Pat Cameron’s listed 9 Indian Pass at $1,175,000. These are both good streets; Indian Pass is a dead end, Valleywood is hugely popular with young families and loaded with kids. The Indian Pass house has been beautifully updated while Valleywood’s renovations are a little older (with a great kitchen and dining area). But both houses are terrific in their own way, and a buyer wouldn’t go wrong with either. If these houses are still available by the time this column sees publishing daylight, we’ll know that the summer buyer’s market has truly arrived.

May 14, 2004

A New House
A builder named Dave Tilly is building a new house on Irvine Street in Old Greenwich that’s worthy of mention for a number of reasons. First is its design. While I mourn the loss of so many small cottages in town, buyers today want larger houses, and builders, if they expect to stay in business, must comply. That said, this house, to my eye, fits into the streetscape very nicely, neither dwarfing the cottage next door nor crowding its own lot. Tilly speaks of ratios and proportions like an old Greek architect, and he’s achieved it here. Second is quality. The poured foundation is set on a foot of gravel, with an air system underneath the concrete floor that creates a negative airflow, sucking out any damp air. The furnace is a new German design so efficient (97%, compared to the usual 85%) that its exhaust gets blown out via a fan – it is too cool to rise on its own. That’s just the basement. Upstairs, the sheathing is plywood, not oriented strandboard, the shingles are hand dipped, Alaskan yellow cedar which, unlike its less expensive cousin, eastern cedar, bleaches grey, not black. The fenestration is by Marvin, there is custom millwork and cabinetry throughout the house and, all in all, it’s obvious that the building is being erected by a fussy, detail-oriented perfectionist. The third reason to take note of this house is that forty percent of it is (gasp!) modular – built in a factory by Haven Homes and shipped to the site. Despite what you may have read elsewhere about the poor quality of such construction, the only differences I can see between a “stick built” house and this one are the speed with which the initial building blocks went up and the craftsmanship in this one: it’s far better than most stick-builts. In evaluating a home, its place of construction —factory vs. on site— is irrelevant; it is the quality of construction you should worry about because, as they say in the computer business, garbage in, garbage out. Dave Tilly’s house is a finely-crafted piece of building which will still look good decades from now.
To Market to Market
It was a busy week, notwithstanding its culminating with Mother’s Day, the slowest day, perhaps excluding Christmas, in the real estate year. Twenty-one residences went to contract, ranging from a high of $3.995 on down to a condo in Glenville for $365,000. Sixty-four new homes were listed: Conyer’s Farm, asking $19,000,000 headed the list while a $375,000 condominium in Lafayette Place brought up the rear. I was busy holding open houses for two of my own listings (I think it inappropriate to flog them in this column, but feel free to call me about them) so I only got to one of the new houses. I’m glad I didn’t miss this one, 189 Shore Road, listed by Janice Grijns and set on its own peninsula in Old Greenwich Harbor. It’s unique – an overworked term in this silly business but because of our coastal zone regulations there’s no way anyone could build this house today. About five thousand square feet of absolutely top-notch construction (my older brother helped build it in the late 70’s and told me tales of the builder/architect’s fastidiousness) with sweeping views over the cove and down Long Island Sound. It has a vaguely flying saucerish look and there were those of us who regretted its replacing an old PT boat turned houseboat years ago, but all is forgiven, as the house has mellowed into its surroundings and is now quite attractive. You’ll save on lawn upkeep —there is no lawn— but 1800 square feet of decking and a private dock provide all the room for outdoor entertaining you’ll need. There’s even a jungle gym set up on one of the decks for the current owner’s grandchildren (or perhaps the owners are defying the normal rules of aging). Janice calls the place “Sugar Island” because, she says, local history has it that the location was used to unload sugar in Colonial days. I doubt it — due to the difficulties of transporting it, sugar was usually converted first into molasses and then into rum before ending up here, just as Vermont apples were made into Applejack and corn west of the Appalachians was turned into whiskey —remember reading about the Whiskey Rebellion?— but never mind. Pour yourself a nice rum punch, put your feet up on the rail and enjoy the best view in town.

May 6,2004

Zoning
Our state Senate has passed a bill intended to overturn the decision of Poirer v. Town of Wilton which, you may recall, held that zoning regulations imposed after a subdivision has been approved are ineffective against properties in that subdivision. Poirer had the welcome effect of providing some homeowners relief from Greenwich's flawed floor area ratio regulations but, over-all, the bill repealing it was bound to happen and properly so. Poirer not only created a hash of all our zoning rules, its logic would seem to invalidate our environmental regulations as well. Say what you will about FAR, draining swamps and erecting mansions on beaches does not improve our town. But, if you're inclined to cram that starter mansion on your quarter acre or otherwise assault the environment, hop to it: the bill's next stop is Connecticut's House of Representatives and from there it's a short trip to the Governor's desk. Whoever is sitting at that desk when this bill arrives will surely sign it. That will restore order to the zoning world, but will still leave us with our Byzantine FAR regulations. A missed opportunity, I think.
Three Houses
Three houses caught my eye last week. Gussie Tipper has listed 19 Home Place, near Bruce Park, for $849,000. A smallish, two bedroom house on a beautiful yard, it seems perfect for a single or couple who want an easy walk to town and the station. Peter Joyce has listed 4 Osceola Drive for $1,495,000. Not much bigger than Gussie’s, but the yards in this neighborhood are quite large (this one’s on 0.4 acre) so you could expand if you wanted and still have a great property. Comes with a pool and a greenhouse. No pool, but with four acres plus to put one on, is Joe Barbieri’s listing at 718 North Street for $4,350,000. The house, I’m told, was originally built in 1938 by the head of the American Water Company and I presume he sited it here so that he could overlook his investment in the new reservoir. Just a great house in every way, with a new kitchen, updated baths and mechanicals and all of the original beauty left intact. Gardens abound.
Show me the House, I’ll Show You the Money!
I spent a frustrating weekend trying to show a couple of properties in town. Frustrating, because the owners insisted on approving all showings in advance and then left for the weekend, making it impossible for their listing broker to reach them. No approval, no show and therefore no sale. Most houses for sale in town use a keybox system—a key is locked in a device that can only be opened by a licensed member of the Greenwich Board of Realtors. An electronic record is kept of the identity and time of each entry. Some owners, out of perfectly legitimate concerns about privacy and security, demand more control over who can see their house, and when. Fair enough, but sellers should consider that, the more impediments there are to viewing a house, the fewer people will see it. Consider a typical situation where a couple is coming out from New York for an afternoon of viewing homes. Their Realtor can show them, say, six houses in that timeframe. A vacant house with keybox is a no-brainer, and goes on the list. If the listing broker must accompany the showing agent, then that can work if the two agents’ schedules mesh; otherwise, not. There may not be time to swing by the listing office and pick up a key, so houses with that impediment go on the “return visit” list. And so forth. The point is this: you have only one house to sell. The buyers can pick from a great many houses, but certainly won’t pick a house they haven’t seen. If your house isn’t in the seen group, you’re not going to sell it, simple as that. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that real estate is complicated.
Patient Sellers
Here’s another simple truth: the “patient seller” who overprices his house and expects to wear down reluctant buyers is fooling himself. Buyers (as distinguished from lookers) aren’t patient, they’re ready to buy a house, move their families in and get on with their lives. If they perceive that a house is overpriced they’ll move on to the next one. What the seller is really doing, besides missing the market, is counting on the rising price of real estate to eventually make his house competitive. When that happy equilibrium is achieved, the house finally sells and the owner tells his agent, “I told you so.” But the agent probably wonders why anyone would suffer such inconvenience. If you want to sell your house next year, put it on the market then. If you want to sell it now, price it right.