January 28, 2005
$25,000,000 gets you . . .
Not too much, judging from some recent new construction I saw. Lots of stonework, naturally, high, high ceilings and a peckerwood-panelled library, but I was hard pressed to see what set this house apart from others costing half as much. It sits on less than two acres of land and, to my taste, is merely a very large compilation of all the current building clichés. It does have a massage parlor in the basement, in case the buyer’s Wall Street career collapses and he needs alternative employment but is that enough to justify its price? I thought not, and was relieved to think that I had just saved $12,500,000 by liking other, cheaper houses more. On the other hand, and to be fair, some other agents who saw the place liked all its bells and whistles and even its architecture. So if your end-of-year bonus was really, really special and is now burning a hole in your pocket, go take a look: it might be just the house for you.
$6,000,000 Houses
The old rule of thumb in the building business is that the land should comprise a third of a house’s sales price. As more and more building lots sell for $2,000,000 and above we can expect to see an ever-growing inventory of $6,000,000 houses. Will they all sell? Twenty-six new houses (built in 2003 or later) were listed for sale in 2004 and eleven of them sold or are currently under contract. That leaves fifteen unsold and, judging from the construction activity around town, there are more coming to join them. I hope they sell quickly, but I wouldn’t want to be a builder paying interest on that kind of investment; it would seem to lead to sleepless nights.
In Old Greenwich
Betty Moran has a new listing at 201 Shore Road that is a great example of how to modernize an old Victorian. Originally built in 1894, a series of owners have expanded and updated the kitchen and added air conditioning all without losing any of the original grace of this house. It has a half-acre yard and is part of Lucas Point, one of the niftier micro-communities in town. $3,220,000, which seems about right to me.
And on the River
Joe Williams listed 42 Carey Road recently for $895,000 and had an accepted offer within days. I liked this house a lot, as it sits directly on the Mianus and is flanked by town parkland. Less than two years ago it traded for $750,000 and, other than removing a dog washing room, seems unchanged. That’s a better return than many investments.
Statistics
I attended the Riverside Association’s annual meeting recently and was handed an information sheet from Randy Keleher (nice marketing move, Randy) that compared last year’s appreciation in Riverside real estate to that of the rest of the town. Both are impressive, unless you are trying to buy a house. There were 137 single family sales in Riverside last year compared to 89 the year before (town wide: 841 vs. 770). Average closing price for Riverside was $2,306,249, an increase of 52% from the year before and median price was $1,680,000, a 27% increase (town wide, $2,207,476 – 24% and $1,495,000 – 30%). This place isn’t getting any cheaper.
Bad Agents
Recently an agent “accidentally” contacted another agent’s client. If this were the first (or the second or the third) time this particular agent violated the Realtor Code of Ethics his story might be believable; as it is, I suspect that he was fishing for business. This kind of aggressive behavior impresses some people because they think that the agent will show the same aggression in selling their house. In fact, the aggression is solely directed toward benefiting the salesman and you the seller are not likely to gain anything from dealing with such a person. Hurrumph.
Disgruntled Reader
Mr. Hans Isbrantsen has written to complain that my idyllic memories of growing up in Riverside omitted the thugs and bullies who used to prey upon us at Ada’s Lousy Shop and the streets around town. “I still remember,” he writes, “that a trip past St. Paul’s church was fraught with danger and not to be taken lightly unless you were on a fast bike”. Gee I don’t know, Hans, maybe they just didn’t like you.
Not too much, judging from some recent new construction I saw. Lots of stonework, naturally, high, high ceilings and a peckerwood-panelled library, but I was hard pressed to see what set this house apart from others costing half as much. It sits on less than two acres of land and, to my taste, is merely a very large compilation of all the current building clichés. It does have a massage parlor in the basement, in case the buyer’s Wall Street career collapses and he needs alternative employment but is that enough to justify its price? I thought not, and was relieved to think that I had just saved $12,500,000 by liking other, cheaper houses more. On the other hand, and to be fair, some other agents who saw the place liked all its bells and whistles and even its architecture. So if your end-of-year bonus was really, really special and is now burning a hole in your pocket, go take a look: it might be just the house for you.
$6,000,000 Houses
The old rule of thumb in the building business is that the land should comprise a third of a house’s sales price. As more and more building lots sell for $2,000,000 and above we can expect to see an ever-growing inventory of $6,000,000 houses. Will they all sell? Twenty-six new houses (built in 2003 or later) were listed for sale in 2004 and eleven of them sold or are currently under contract. That leaves fifteen unsold and, judging from the construction activity around town, there are more coming to join them. I hope they sell quickly, but I wouldn’t want to be a builder paying interest on that kind of investment; it would seem to lead to sleepless nights.
In Old Greenwich
Betty Moran has a new listing at 201 Shore Road that is a great example of how to modernize an old Victorian. Originally built in 1894, a series of owners have expanded and updated the kitchen and added air conditioning all without losing any of the original grace of this house. It has a half-acre yard and is part of Lucas Point, one of the niftier micro-communities in town. $3,220,000, which seems about right to me.
And on the River
Joe Williams listed 42 Carey Road recently for $895,000 and had an accepted offer within days. I liked this house a lot, as it sits directly on the Mianus and is flanked by town parkland. Less than two years ago it traded for $750,000 and, other than removing a dog washing room, seems unchanged. That’s a better return than many investments.
Statistics
I attended the Riverside Association’s annual meeting recently and was handed an information sheet from Randy Keleher (nice marketing move, Randy) that compared last year’s appreciation in Riverside real estate to that of the rest of the town. Both are impressive, unless you are trying to buy a house. There were 137 single family sales in Riverside last year compared to 89 the year before (town wide: 841 vs. 770). Average closing price for Riverside was $2,306,249, an increase of 52% from the year before and median price was $1,680,000, a 27% increase (town wide, $2,207,476 – 24% and $1,495,000 – 30%). This place isn’t getting any cheaper.
Bad Agents
Recently an agent “accidentally” contacted another agent’s client. If this were the first (or the second or the third) time this particular agent violated the Realtor Code of Ethics his story might be believable; as it is, I suspect that he was fishing for business. This kind of aggressive behavior impresses some people because they think that the agent will show the same aggression in selling their house. In fact, the aggression is solely directed toward benefiting the salesman and you the seller are not likely to gain anything from dealing with such a person. Hurrumph.
Disgruntled Reader
Mr. Hans Isbrantsen has written to complain that my idyllic memories of growing up in Riverside omitted the thugs and bullies who used to prey upon us at Ada’s Lousy Shop and the streets around town. “I still remember,” he writes, “that a trip past St. Paul’s church was fraught with danger and not to be taken lightly unless you were on a fast bike”. Gee I don’t know, Hans, maybe they just didn’t like you.
posted by Chris Fountain at 9:07 AM
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