Another auction attempt

822 north street

822 north street

So I received this email this morning about an upcoming auction and it struck me as interesting:

A classic Georgian manor located in the exclusive town of Greenwich will sell to the highest bidder on June 28th through leading global auction firm Concierge Auctions as part of the company’s June Sale, encompassing 18 properties around the world and counting. While the sale is particularly targeting Chinese real estate investors, prospective buyers may bid from any continent via the Concierge Auctions custom mobile bidding app.
Designed and constructed by noted builders Gardiner and Larson and surrounded by almost four–and–a–half acres of landscaping, the property consists of a seven-bedroom home and an attached stone carriage guest house complete with a living room, cathedral ceiling bedroom, and oversized bathroom.
Located at 822 North Street, the main estate offers a grand living room with large windows and French doors, formal dining room, gourmet kitchen, and expansive terrace overlooking the manicured lawn. Upstairs, the home’s master wing includes a sitting room with a fireplace and built-ins, a spacious bathroom, and two dressing areas.
The affluent suburb of Greenwich is less than 40 miles from Manhattan and is a blend of historic charm and modern convenience, offering high-end retailers and upscale restaurants along with small businesses and historic sites.
Currently listed for $7.25 million, the property will sell at or above $3.95 million in cooperation with Francine Ehrlich of Sotheby’s International Realty.

822's a nice house, even if its 4 acres stretch out over a long, narrow strip. It sold for $7.5 million when it was new back in 2002 (when, at least at that time, it came with  par 3 golf hole. Then-Listing Broker Brad Hvolbeck sponsored a "closest to the hole" contest on open house day. Must have been effective, because I remember it fifteen years later).

History has not been quite as kind to subsequent owners, however. Those original buyers put in a lot of additional money renovating/redoing the house in 2011, but the money was wasted; or at least, they didn't get it back: the current owners paid $6.5 for it in 2012.

But I'll be curious to see what happens here. The few attempts at auctions I've seen in town haven't seemed to work out, but this one just might, because if the reserve is really just $4 million, that's enough of a discount, maybe, to move a buyer. And I do admire the sellers' decision to not be dragged into a year-long process of owning a house they no longer want (as you'll note from its pictures, they've cleared out). The house is going directly from being listed to auction, so there's no stigma of staleness associated with it.

I do snicker at the auctioneer's claim to be "particularly targeting Chinese real estate investors". If there's one fact about the Greenwich real estate market that's been solidly established through years of unsuccessful marketing, it's take there is no Chinese market here.

But does still leave the Russians and, of course, their collaborators in Washington.