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.
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.
posted by Chris Fountain at 10:08 AM
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