June 11, 2004
Sell that House!
It was an active week with more than twenty houses going to contract (and many more notching accepted offers). Most notable, from a price perspective, was David Ogilvy’s listing at 34 Field Point Circle which languished unloved at $25,000,000 and almost immediately went to contract when the price was chopped to $19,000,000. Mr. Ogilvy is undisputedly the most successful Realtor in town so this daring, never-before-revealed technique might well be adopted by other sellers, even those whose houses prices don’t have as many zeros attached. Try this: your house isn’t selling at $2,500,000? Drop it to $1,900,000 and see what happens. Good things, I predict.
Tennis, Anyone?
Conventional wisdom says that adding a swimming pool or tennis court adds nothing to a home’s value because as many people don’t want such amenities as those who do. With absolutely no statistical evidence to back me up (I’m working on the laziest columnist of the year award) I’d still suggest that, at least so far as mid and back country properties are concerned, this conventional wisdom is half wrong: a beautifully landscaped pool adds value, while a tennis court adds nothing at best and detracts from the value at worst. I base that conclusion on the number of clients who specifically want a pool or at least a viable pool site (many) versus those who refuse to view properties with pools (none). A private pool provides a different experience from, say, a club pool, I think, while tennis is tennis except for the most fanatical players. My advice is that you not sacrifice a small yard to cram in a pool but if your property can accommodate a pool, and you want one, go ahead with the project with a certain confidence that you’ll be enhancing your home’s value. Of course, many former pool owners report that the happiest day of the year is the day they close their pool for the season but the same thing is said about boat owners when they sell their craft, and people still sail.
Unique
The discussion of tennis fanatics brings to mind another pitfall of house selling: making your home too personalized. It’s your house and your money but before spending too much on your passion, whether it’s a tennis court, an indoor hockey rink or a completely unique decorating scheme, you might want to consider the effect on the next buyer. If someone doesn’t share your taste or your particular enthusiasm for a life-sized chessboard in the backyard, say, they’ll compute the cost and nuisance of removing your creation and will either lower their offer or, worse, walk away. Something similar often occurs with custom contemporary houses: these are designed around the client’s own specific tastes; it can take awhile before a buyer who shares those tastes appears. Which accounts for all the bland, center hall Colonials put up by spec – builders. They want to sell what they build.
395 Stanwich Road
Sally O’Brien has listed this grand old house for $3,250,000 which I think is pretty good deal for a terrific property. The house was built in 1938 and still sits on two acres of lawn, with another two acres or so of conservation land serving as a buffer from Stanwich Road (the house is actually on the new road, Rock Maple). It needs updating, although I believe the furnace and other mechanicals are new, but the buyer who puts the work in will have a gracious, beautifully flowing home. The best room is the huge step-down living room with a high ceiling, a great fireplace and, if I remember correctly, French doors along both sides, bringing in lots of light and providing wonderful views of the lawns and gardens. Well worth seeing.
And For Less Than Half That
Barbara Stephens has just listed 21 Blind Brook Road, in the King Merritt area, for $1,300,000. This house needs a lot of work to bring it up to date but it has the land to justify that effort: over an acre and a half of very nice lawn and mature trees, sitting high over a pond. Highway noise is negligible and Blind Brook itself is a quiet dead end. I’ve been writing for some time now that the King Merritt development offers one of the few remaining land bargains in town. Each lot is at least an acre and, while many of the houses are dated, there is a lot of renovation going on. Prices have soared in the past two years and will, I predict, continue to appreciate.
It was an active week with more than twenty houses going to contract (and many more notching accepted offers). Most notable, from a price perspective, was David Ogilvy’s listing at 34 Field Point Circle which languished unloved at $25,000,000 and almost immediately went to contract when the price was chopped to $19,000,000. Mr. Ogilvy is undisputedly the most successful Realtor in town so this daring, never-before-revealed technique might well be adopted by other sellers, even those whose houses prices don’t have as many zeros attached. Try this: your house isn’t selling at $2,500,000? Drop it to $1,900,000 and see what happens. Good things, I predict.
Tennis, Anyone?
Conventional wisdom says that adding a swimming pool or tennis court adds nothing to a home’s value because as many people don’t want such amenities as those who do. With absolutely no statistical evidence to back me up (I’m working on the laziest columnist of the year award) I’d still suggest that, at least so far as mid and back country properties are concerned, this conventional wisdom is half wrong: a beautifully landscaped pool adds value, while a tennis court adds nothing at best and detracts from the value at worst. I base that conclusion on the number of clients who specifically want a pool or at least a viable pool site (many) versus those who refuse to view properties with pools (none). A private pool provides a different experience from, say, a club pool, I think, while tennis is tennis except for the most fanatical players. My advice is that you not sacrifice a small yard to cram in a pool but if your property can accommodate a pool, and you want one, go ahead with the project with a certain confidence that you’ll be enhancing your home’s value. Of course, many former pool owners report that the happiest day of the year is the day they close their pool for the season but the same thing is said about boat owners when they sell their craft, and people still sail.
Unique
The discussion of tennis fanatics brings to mind another pitfall of house selling: making your home too personalized. It’s your house and your money but before spending too much on your passion, whether it’s a tennis court, an indoor hockey rink or a completely unique decorating scheme, you might want to consider the effect on the next buyer. If someone doesn’t share your taste or your particular enthusiasm for a life-sized chessboard in the backyard, say, they’ll compute the cost and nuisance of removing your creation and will either lower their offer or, worse, walk away. Something similar often occurs with custom contemporary houses: these are designed around the client’s own specific tastes; it can take awhile before a buyer who shares those tastes appears. Which accounts for all the bland, center hall Colonials put up by spec – builders. They want to sell what they build.
395 Stanwich Road
Sally O’Brien has listed this grand old house for $3,250,000 which I think is pretty good deal for a terrific property. The house was built in 1938 and still sits on two acres of lawn, with another two acres or so of conservation land serving as a buffer from Stanwich Road (the house is actually on the new road, Rock Maple). It needs updating, although I believe the furnace and other mechanicals are new, but the buyer who puts the work in will have a gracious, beautifully flowing home. The best room is the huge step-down living room with a high ceiling, a great fireplace and, if I remember correctly, French doors along both sides, bringing in lots of light and providing wonderful views of the lawns and gardens. Well worth seeing.
And For Less Than Half That
Barbara Stephens has just listed 21 Blind Brook Road, in the King Merritt area, for $1,300,000. This house needs a lot of work to bring it up to date but it has the land to justify that effort: over an acre and a half of very nice lawn and mature trees, sitting high over a pond. Highway noise is negligible and Blind Brook itself is a quiet dead end. I’ve been writing for some time now that the King Merritt development offers one of the few remaining land bargains in town. Each lot is at least an acre and, while many of the houses are dated, there is a lot of renovation going on. Prices have soared in the past two years and will, I predict, continue to appreciate.
posted by Chris Fountain at 10:12 AM
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