Just ... No

19 South End Court, in Old Greenwich, cut its price today to $3.495 million, down from its 2017 pre-construction price of $3.848. The latest listing claims 5,490 square feet, while the previous broker was more forthright: 3,650 above grade, 1,840 below grade. The fact that the builder chose to stuff a pair bedrooms in the basement does not, in my opinion, mean that their area should be included in the square footage recital.

The location is great: walk to town. After that, everything falls off the cliff.

I refrain from making cruel comments about new listings, but after a property has been on the market for a full year, as this one has, and the market's had its opportunity to view it, consider it, and scream its disapproval, let's have at it.

It's still under construction, so we'll have to hold off on any consideration of its interior, but the exterior shots are damning enough. 

Someone had to look at this design while it was still on paper and exclaim, "yeah, THAT'S what I want!" (Notice the carport to the right, by the way)

Speaking of cliffs, imagine the effect when the little ranch next door is replaced by a full-sized house

Nope: doesn't improve in the rear, either

New Listings

113 Meadow Wood Drive, Belle Haven, $8.250 million.

I don't get it.

32 Pecksland

32 Pecksland Road, $5.9 million. Great old 1929 house, but Pecksland's being having trouble achieving his prices over the past decade. Maybe this one will reverse that trend, because it's a very, very nice home.

17 Hendrie

17 Hendrie Drive, Old Greenwich, $4.295 million. These owners paid $4.250 for it in 2010, so I understand where this price comes from, but now that the Fountain Squatter Shack across the creek has been razed, much of the charm of the location has gone.

Back in 2008, the listing agent priced this place at $7.750, before finally selling it for the aforesaid $4.250: have I already mentioned the term "batshit crazy"? 

Sold

36 Montgomery Lane (off Stanwich — corrected), $3.6 million, on an original asking price  of $3.950 million. The sellers paid $2.825 for it in 2013, long after the spec builder had put it on the market for $8.295 million, and ostensively renovated/improved it. The house is nice enough, but considering its location, and the house itself, that $8 million price was, to use a technical realtor term, "batshit crazy".

Contracts and Pending

180 Park Avenue, Greenwich, $4.1 million is under contract. I've liked this house since it was built in 2008, when it was priced at $4.850. It's solidly built to high-quality standards and located on one our prettiest in-town streets (I define "in-town" as any place from which you can easily walk to Whole Foods). The market disagreed, and for the past  ten years it's been on and off the market, with long periods of rentals. Now it's finally found a buyer.

If I have one criticism, it's the baffling decision by the builder/owners not to plant a screening hedge on this busy curve. Had they done so back in 2008, It wouldn't have been terribly expensive, and today the back yard would enjoy great privacy.

PENDING:

50 Hillcrest

50 Hillcrest Park Road, $2.499 million. Never a favorite of mine — no back yard was just one of its drawbacks — this house has seen a slow decline in its value. It sold new for $2.885 in 2004, used for $2.565 in 2013 and now, it's going for less than $2.499 five years later. Houses can depreciate, as this one illustrates.

76 Shore Road, Old Greenwich, asking $2.295 million. The Mickster and I were involved in a rather heated bidding war between potential buyers for this 0.58-acre lot back in September, 2016, and our client "won", paying $2.502 million on an asking price of $2.295. I don't recommend entering into bidding wars, but if a client is determined, I'll o my best to achieve his goals. After purchase, a very nice new house was designed by local (excellent) Greenwich architect Doug VanderHorn was prepared, but the client changed his mind. I wasn't asked to represent him on this resale — perhaps because I "let" him bid more than he should have? Who knows?

I have no idea who's running as the Republican Gubernatorial candidate in New York, but if the Republicans were smart, they'd start contributing to Democrat Cynthia Nixon's campaign

This lesbian TV star, about as far-left-whacko as current politics permit (and that's to say she's a moonbat, orbiting Pluto) is forcing Cuomo to follow her off the cliff. That cliff is in the conservative, northern half of New York, and those citizens may no longer have the votes to defeat either one of these dreadful people, but is that such a bad thing? Either New York gets a Republican governor, or the state goes down in flames.

The former would be good for the country; the latter could only help Greenwich real estate prices.

Win win. 

Price cut on Rapids Lane

10 Rapids, to be precise, from $12.5 million (2015) to $7.595 million. Will a five-million "price improvement" do the trick? Well, it's certainly a large, impressive house. Not my taste, but I'm not the market for these behemoths. 

Photo Shopped fire, sure, but fake firewood?

Sale price on Cognewaugh reported

A fool and his money are eventually parted

171 Cognewaugh has sold for $3.7 million. I'm doubtful on resale, but it started at $4.985 million a year ago, so it apparently looked like a bargain to the buyer.

The builder paid just a million for the land in 2013, so despite carrying costs since then, he made out well here.

Redeeming a pawn?

Former Australian CEO of Queensland Bank's Stuart Grimshaw, now CEO of Texas-based pawn shop chain EZ Corp,  has listed 21 Hurlingham Drive  at $8.950 million, a significant mark-up from the $8 million he paid for it last year.

It has, or had, when James Moss of Blackstone Group owned it, a hockey rink, which doesn't sound like a selling point, and is "magazine ready" according to its listing. Does that mean it's got racks of assault rifles by the doors and windows, ready to be loaded, or something else? Beats me.

Given the dismal track record of Conyers Farm sales over the past decade, especially those, like this one, that sprawl across the New York border, I'm guessing that Mr. Grimshaw will be disappointed at his return on investment in this property. 

Pending in Mid-Country

7 Knollwood, asking $4.750 million, reports a pending sale after just 19 days on the market, which I assume means it will be selling for close to that price. That seems a tad high, to me, but the sellers paid $5.650 for it in 2009 and put quite a bit of money into renovations, so i suppose these buyers looked upon it as  bargain.

I've always found Knollwood to be an unattractive, dark street, but tastes do differ.

Contract on Bailiwick

19 Bailiwick Road

19 Bailiwick. askimg $2.875 million; started at $3.850 back in May, 2016.

There must be something nice about Bailiwick (in fact, there is), that keeps persuading owners who live there to overvalue their homes. The previous iteration of this house, pre-renovation, was originally priced at $3.495 in 2007, and finally sold for $2.025 in 2009. 

I think its appeal, besides its architecture so reminiscent of their homes across the border, is that Westchester County residents can move here to escape that state's taxes while remaining close to their friends.

It's certainly not the convenience to town that's the draw, nor the ever-present Merritt Parkway noise.

The sellers have promised to take this chandelier with them when they go — with some hard negotiating, they might be persuaded to remove all the lighting fixtures