December 31, 2004
Best Houses
Conversations with my fellow Realtors reveal a genuine optimism for next year’s market. Wall Street bonuses have been generous, demand is still strong and, all in all, those of you waiting for a dip in prices this spring are probably going to be disappointed; many of us expect to see at least a ten percent rise. But there are still some houses left over from the past year that have been serially reduced in price and which now represent, in my opinion, good buys. Here, in descending price, are my favorites:
432 Field Point Road. “The Boulders”. This is an absolutely beautiful house, built in 1895 and renovated as recently as 1996. Originally priced at $8,500,000, it’s dropped to $4,900,000. What are you waiting for?
40 Sumner Road. An almost new (2001) contemporary on over five acres. Bright, sunny and beautifully constructed. $4,495,000.
160 Bedford Road. A 1937 Colonial on eight acres, reduced from $5,300,000 to $4,450,000. If contemporaries aren’t your cup of tea, this classic house should suit you. It doesn’t have the ten foot ceilings that are all the rage these days but I like it, a lot. And for you vandals out there, eight acres of rolling lawn for four and a half million dollars is a pretty good land buy.
29 Pine Ridge. Another classic, a 1928 house renovated in 1999. It’s set on over an acre of land and is just a great house in every way. $3,200,000.
39 Lockwood Lane. Very much not my favorite house but it’s brand new, has tons of space and keeps dropping in price. It is now at $2,350,000 and, if you can overlook its non-traditional exterior, it is quite a lot of house for the money. Also, and somewhat surprisingly, it is very nice inside.
27 Grove Street. Not exactly a classic, but a terrific re-do project overlooking the playing fields of Bible Street. I am astonished that this house hasn’t sold. $650,000.
3 West End Court. Alright, this is my own listing, but at $599,000, I defy you to find anything in its price range within walking distance of Old Greenwich’s stores and train station. Perfect bachelor pad – buy it for your kid.
We Get Results
After complaining that the New York Time’s food column, “The Minimalist” had disappeared, it showed up again. Gentlemen, start your Garlands.
Deer Me!
The RTM’s decision to hire sharpshooters armed with silenced rifles to pick off the deer infesting town property has stirred up a bit of discussion. I find it pleasing to see deer and wild turkeys roaming Riverside but I understand the deer haters’ complaint: there are too many of them. This carnivore won’t join PETA’s shocked outrage that cuddly creatures are being slain but I do wonder whether the town’s culling efforts will have any useful effect. According to the study that was used to justify this “hunt”, there are 125 deer per square mile in town when a more desirable figure would be ten. If we really have 6,250 deer in town (50 square miles X 125) are we proposing to knock off 5,750 deer? The streets will run with blood. And if we do accomplish such slaughter, won’t more deer filter in from Bedford and Stamford to enjoy the now empty browsing room? Do we intend keeping the shooters in town until every deer in New England has been lured in and disposed of? Finally, will killing deer in the Babcock Property prevent other deer from munching rhoderdendrums on private land? The death penalty doesn’t seem to have much deterrent effect on our society’s most deranged criminals, and I’m not convinced that it will work on these hoofed rats either. Then again, snuffing a handful of deer might be like one hundred lawyers on the bottom of the East River: a good start. I guess we’ll see. If deadly force turns out to do the trick, then perhaps we can start banging away at the real nuisance in town, Canadian Geese. Did you know that a half inch of rain flushes these park poopers’ waste straight into Tod’s Point and forces the closing of our clamming beds? If a bunch of feathered hippies were camped at Binney Park making the same kind of mess even the Friends of Animals would be howling for their removal. What’s sauce for the hippies ….
Entitlement
I noticed one of those new Bentley coupes ($149,000 before you add floor mats) parked near Whole Foods in an area marked “no parking”. Why doesn’t this surprise me?
Conversations with my fellow Realtors reveal a genuine optimism for next year’s market. Wall Street bonuses have been generous, demand is still strong and, all in all, those of you waiting for a dip in prices this spring are probably going to be disappointed; many of us expect to see at least a ten percent rise. But there are still some houses left over from the past year that have been serially reduced in price and which now represent, in my opinion, good buys. Here, in descending price, are my favorites:
432 Field Point Road. “The Boulders”. This is an absolutely beautiful house, built in 1895 and renovated as recently as 1996. Originally priced at $8,500,000, it’s dropped to $4,900,000. What are you waiting for?
40 Sumner Road. An almost new (2001) contemporary on over five acres. Bright, sunny and beautifully constructed. $4,495,000.
160 Bedford Road. A 1937 Colonial on eight acres, reduced from $5,300,000 to $4,450,000. If contemporaries aren’t your cup of tea, this classic house should suit you. It doesn’t have the ten foot ceilings that are all the rage these days but I like it, a lot. And for you vandals out there, eight acres of rolling lawn for four and a half million dollars is a pretty good land buy.
29 Pine Ridge. Another classic, a 1928 house renovated in 1999. It’s set on over an acre of land and is just a great house in every way. $3,200,000.
39 Lockwood Lane. Very much not my favorite house but it’s brand new, has tons of space and keeps dropping in price. It is now at $2,350,000 and, if you can overlook its non-traditional exterior, it is quite a lot of house for the money. Also, and somewhat surprisingly, it is very nice inside.
27 Grove Street. Not exactly a classic, but a terrific re-do project overlooking the playing fields of Bible Street. I am astonished that this house hasn’t sold. $650,000.
3 West End Court. Alright, this is my own listing, but at $599,000, I defy you to find anything in its price range within walking distance of Old Greenwich’s stores and train station. Perfect bachelor pad – buy it for your kid.
We Get Results
After complaining that the New York Time’s food column, “The Minimalist” had disappeared, it showed up again. Gentlemen, start your Garlands.
Deer Me!
The RTM’s decision to hire sharpshooters armed with silenced rifles to pick off the deer infesting town property has stirred up a bit of discussion. I find it pleasing to see deer and wild turkeys roaming Riverside but I understand the deer haters’ complaint: there are too many of them. This carnivore won’t join PETA’s shocked outrage that cuddly creatures are being slain but I do wonder whether the town’s culling efforts will have any useful effect. According to the study that was used to justify this “hunt”, there are 125 deer per square mile in town when a more desirable figure would be ten. If we really have 6,250 deer in town (50 square miles X 125) are we proposing to knock off 5,750 deer? The streets will run with blood. And if we do accomplish such slaughter, won’t more deer filter in from Bedford and Stamford to enjoy the now empty browsing room? Do we intend keeping the shooters in town until every deer in New England has been lured in and disposed of? Finally, will killing deer in the Babcock Property prevent other deer from munching rhoderdendrums on private land? The death penalty doesn’t seem to have much deterrent effect on our society’s most deranged criminals, and I’m not convinced that it will work on these hoofed rats either. Then again, snuffing a handful of deer might be like one hundred lawyers on the bottom of the East River: a good start. I guess we’ll see. If deadly force turns out to do the trick, then perhaps we can start banging away at the real nuisance in town, Canadian Geese. Did you know that a half inch of rain flushes these park poopers’ waste straight into Tod’s Point and forces the closing of our clamming beds? If a bunch of feathered hippies were camped at Binney Park making the same kind of mess even the Friends of Animals would be howling for their removal. What’s sauce for the hippies ….
Entitlement
I noticed one of those new Bentley coupes ($149,000 before you add floor mats) parked near Whole Foods in an area marked “no parking”. Why doesn’t this surprise me?
posted by Chris Fountain at 8:19 AM
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