Greenwich, Connecticut real estate, politics, and more.
Greenwich, Connecticut real estate, politics, and more
The San Francisco Chronicle has a depressing article about the surplus of old people and the shortage of young people to care for them. Even more depressing, however, is the piscatorial ignorance of its copyeditor: those are barrels of Atlantic herring, used as lobster bait. The “catch” would be lobsters, not pictured.
BAIT
QUARRY
214 Clapboard Ridge Road — 8 acres at the Round Hill side of Clapboard — has closed at $5.1 million*. That isn’t the $7.595 the owner was hoping for when he listed it in May, 2018, but it’s still a large sum, and assuming someone is planning to sink a few million into restoring this 1940 home, it’s good news for the neighbors, because it means that other rich folks still want to buy up here.
* We reported on it last month when it went pending, still listed at $6.195. The buyer achieved a notable discount from that last asking price.
44 Husted Lane has dropped its price to $2.395; The owners paid $2.850 for it in 2011, and began this resale effort in 2016 at $3.485. I remember when Heineken moved one of their executives out of here in 2006 and tried selling it for $4.395 million. That was pretty amusing, or so the market thought, and after a couple of years of renting it out, the brewers sold it to this couple for the aforementioned $2.850 in 2011. Maybe this new price of $2.4 is the right one for this market; then again, maybe not.
51 Brookridge Drive, asking $2 million, has a contract after just 78 days — listed on May 28th. The owners paid $1.660 for it in July, 2017, so they’ve done surprisingly well for such a short a short period of ownership. I imagine that the money they put into renovations (a very nice reworking of the kitchen, among other things) will mean they’re just breaking even here, but breaking even or, better yet, making a small profit, after just two years must be gratifying. (If you’re curious, the 2017 listing can be found here.)
We can only hope that the owners had moved out before listing their house, and this regrettable decorating can be blamed on a stager
August 15, 2019 (Greenwich, CT) - The Greenwich Association of REALTORS® announces the statistics for home sales in The Town of Greenwich, CT for the month of July 2019.
There were 70 single-family residential closings reported during this period according to figures provided by The Greenwich Multiple Listing Service, Inc., the multiple listing service used by REALTORS® in the Greenwich area.
The number of single-family residential closings decreased compared to July 2018 when there were 76 closings. The median sale price for a single-family home was an increase to $1,972,500 from median sales price in July 2018, which was $1,837,500.
The average days on the market (DOM) for residential homes was 222 days; which was an increase from 145 days in July 2018.
There were 17 condo/co-op residential closings reported during this time period; which was a decrease from July 2018 when there were 18 closings.
The median sale price for a condo/co-op increased to $600,000 from $590,000 the median sales price in July 2018.
The average days on the market (DOM) for condo/co-op residential homes was 128; which was an increase from 122 days in July 2018.“July 2019 had seventy closings and a median sale price of $1,972,500; With a 7% median sale price increase from July 2018. Greenwich was the sector in town with the most closings, ending July with forty sales. Riverside was next in line with the most closings, ending the month with eleven sales. Condo/Co-Op sales had seventeen closings in July 2019 with a median sale price of $600,000. Pending sales as of 4:45pm Wednesday, August 14th for Single Family homes were forty-seven and fourteen for Condo/Co-Op" stated John McAtee, 2019 President of the Greenwich Association of REALTORS®.
Median price is up, but I suspect that’s in large part due to so many once-expensive homes dropping to levels that found a buyer. A property that once asked for $8, for instance, and sold for $3.5 in July may indeed help raise the median price for the Greenwich market as a whole, but the individual owner won’t be as happy. This tidbit highlights the problem: “The average days on the market (DOM) for residential homes was 222 days; which was an increase from 145 days in July 2018.” Even the 222 figure is a tad misleading, because it doesn’t include, for some homes, the many, many days a property sat on the market at a much higher figure that what it finally sold for. Regardless, it does speak to the slowdown that’s going on.
As I noted in a comment to a reader in another post, there a number of would-be sellers who either can’t afford to take a million-dollar-plus hit on what they paid for their house, or simply don’t want to (and who can blame them?), so I suspect we’ll continue to experience a slow market, as sellers budge on price only grudgingly, and buyers hold off until the price of a particular house hits reality.
FWIW’s New Mexico correspondent and resident expert on classical music happened to write to discuss several classic songs, two, “A Boy Named Sue” and “Put Another Log on the Fire” written by children’s author Shel Silverstein and one, “Thank God and Greyhound she’s gone” by the unknown (to me) Earl Nix and larry Kingston. Silverstein’s “A Boy Named Sue” was a hit for Johnny Cash, and our correspondent adds this fascinating bit of history concerning it:
Do you know the story behind "A Boy Named Sue?" Jean Shepherd (the radio host I listened to every night as a kid), said on one of his programs that his old man had told him when was grown up he had insisted the spelling of his son's name should be the feminine version, because he figured the kid would be abused for it (he was) and it would toughen him up (Shep said it did). He mentioned this once to Silverstein and you can guess the rest.
As for the latter two songs, here they are
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!
I FORGOT THAT SILVERSTEIN WROTE THIS ONE, TOO:
There were certainly doubts raised by the FBI waiting until this week to raid effrr Jeffrey Epstein’s “Pedophile Island” — why wasn’t it searched when they arrested him July 6th? — but now we have conclusive proof that the Clintons done it. Dead men tell no tales.
China is massing troops on Hong Kong border. As this story has developed over the past weeks I considered pulling my pitiful assets from the market, but I was too embarrassed to engage in futile “market timing”, so I stood pat. I think I’m going to regret that decision.
Okay, that wasn’t cool
You Tube temporarily pulled the video of Chris Cumo’s meltdown before being shamed into reinstating it. Similar to its blocking the video of Black Lives Matter protestors outside Mitch McConnell’s home, threatening to “stab the motherfucker in the heart”. Anything Google/You Tube can do to protect its candidates. But fortunately, FWIW has discovered the original Cumo tape, cleverly mis-titled, and posts it here in case Google’s overseers at Democrat headquarters force it to cave again.
Personally, I think it’s as wrong for hecklers to come after Cuomo as it is for them to harass Tucker Carlson, but our world is far different from what it once was. Worse, though, is that Google’s protecting the Left by censoring the Internet is an ominous harbinger of the election coverage we are about to receive.
(The fun part of this is that Cuomo will from now on, and forever, be known and referred to as “Fredo” by friends and enemies alike.)
78-80 Cedarcliffe Road, in Riverside, has now been listed as land —it’s been marketed as a residence since April, 2016, when Tamar Lurie brought it on at $17.5 million (that Tamar, such a card!). New agent, new price: $9.250. And that might do it, who knows? It’s officially two separate lots, 2+ acres total. Our flood zone regulations place it in our two strictest zones, AE-14 and VE, but the existing house has stood since 1935, so other than the restrictions imposed on new construction by those regulations, I wouldn’t be too concerned. Go ahead, get your feet wet!
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