Hope springs eternal

(Clever use of recycled listing photos; no need to take new ones when the leaves turn later this fall)

160 John Street has returned, this time at $19.995 million. The house and its 18 acres were purchased for $16,189, 820 in 2000, and it’s been looking for a buyer since 2011, when it asked $41 million. There’s no reason to think it won’t sell; it’s a decent house and sits on some beautiful property, but at what price? Come back in another eight years, and perhaps we’ll know.

Some readers may remember when this property was supposed to go to auction in 20134. No buyer appeared, but the video posted by the would-be auctioneer, Raul Villacis is still up. I have my issues with Raul, and wouldn’t get involved in any deal he was involved in, but the auction probably failed for reasons unrelated to Mr. Villacis’s business style.

New construction in Lucas Point

19 West Crossway, asking $4.7 million, is pending. It was still under construction in December, 2016, when it hit the market at $5.485, but that price was aspirational. Assuming the builder is getting something close to the $4.7 number, he should be making out just fine.

Of course, carrying the construction costs over the past three years must have caused him some concern, but ….

Lower end houses still selling

9 Dartmouth Road, Cos Cob, is pending at $1.250 after just 19 days. There are 27 active listings in the $1.1-$1.3 range, while 47 in that range have sold in the past 12 months. If you eliminate houses on the western side of town, houses 30 miles up North Street, and properties best suited for razing, pickings are slim.

The barn/family room: a popular feature in 1964 but today, not so much

As these things go, probably not so bad

After two years on the market, and after starting at $5.795 million, 79 Dingletown Road has closed at $3.805. The sellers paid $5.1 million in 2012.

It sold new in 2007 for $6,787,500, so the rate of decline seems to be slowing.

9/11

Teddy Maloney

Better writers than me have written eloquently about that day, and a link to a sampling can be found here.

Close to home, it’s a day to remember Sally Maloney’s son Teddy, who died that day. Sally was so kind and supportive during my son’s illness that it’s only fitting to remember and mourn her own loss, which I do, every year on this day. The grief doesn’t really fade, alas.

What's the market for 10,000 sq. ft. houses?

We’ll find out, I suppose.

808 North Street is back on the market, now asking $7.9 million. it was asking $12.490 back in 2008, and has reappeared sporadically at various times at ever-lower prices. Owners paid $11.4 for it in 2005, so that first 2008 price is understandable, albeit unsuccessful.

38 Dairy Road

And 38 Dairy Road is also back, having been purchased for $4.9 million in March, 2018. The new owners put in a saltwater pool and are now asking $5.450 for their effort. The original builder hoped for $7.275 when he put it up for sale in 2016, and it took him two years before unleashing;oading it at the aforementioned $4.9. To my taste, 10,000 sq.ft. crammed onto a 2-acre lot is not a desirable home, especially when wrapped in such an ugly exterior, but that’s just personal taste. Someone may well disagree.

Had to be a Bedford tax refugee

427 Taconic Road, June contract, has closed at $2.8 million. I personally would have my doubts about sinking that much money this far north, even for new construction, but here’s a buyer who was undaunted. It was probably the “battleship-type steel”, whatever that is, and the appeal of an actual concert foundation that convinced him.

This newly built 2018 powerhouse features battleship type steel and concrete foundation, the latest in insulation techniques, completely fuled by propane...resulting in a 6,500 square foot home that ONLY COSTS $300 per month in heating costs!

Go ahead, ask me: how crazy are the sexual alphabeters? This crazy:

Well, one of us is a lunatic, for sure

LGBTETC upset that Pennywise the clown isn’t gay and, in fact, apparently dislikes them.

Over at PJMedia John Ellis writes,

[Gay activists] are so committed to their martyr complex that every single thing is interpreted through the lens of either being pro-gay or anti-gay — literally every single thing. How else to explain a writer for the prominent LGTBQ publication Out complaining because Pennywise from the horror film It Chapter Two isn't a "gay ally?"

In her article (which contains spoilers) Rose Dommu whines, "I’m sad to announce that Pennywise is not gay, or even an ally. In fact, Pennywise is surprisingly anti-queer."

In case you're unfamiliar with the horror movie based on the Stephen King-penned novel, Pennywise is a murderous, demonic clown who tortures and eats children.

Ellis then proposes a far more interesting possibility:

Or, actually, now that I've had some time to think about it, maybe Dommu has committed a Freudian slip and accidentally revealed that the LGBTQ community does prey on our children with the goal of consuming them by dragging them into an unnatural lifestyle that will destroy them. Maybe Dommu is right; maybe it's a complete failure and disgrace on the part of the makers of It Chapter Two that Pennywise was not portrayed as a member of the LBTQ community.

We can only hope Kim Campbell was vacationing there

Dorian slams into Nova Scotia

Dorian’s heavy rains and 90 mph winds made one last slap at Canada on Sunday before the storm headed out to sea, where it’s finally expected to fizzle out by Tuesday.

The former hurricane lashed Nova Scotia, leaving 80 percent of the province without power as electrical lines and trees were uprooted throughout the weekend, according to reports.

More than 500,000 utility customers lost power during the storm and more than 400,000 were without electricity late Sunday.

Ms. Campbell must have been crushed when Dorian bypassed Trump Palace, but perhaps she’ll be content to freeze in the dark herself. Close enough.

As Hurricane Dorian is predicted to hit Florida by Labor Day, the former prime minister of Canada cheered the fact that President Trump's golf resort at Mar-a-Lago appears to be in its path.

Kim Campbell, who served as the 19th Canadian prime minister for less than five months in 1993, tweeted that she is "rooting" for Trump's favorite getaway destination to take a direct hit.

I’m rooting for a direct hit on Mar a Lago! https://t.co/cA14KQvjpC

— Kim Campbell (@AKimCampbell) August 28, 2019

As California goes, there goes the nation

Leaving LA

California’s unions try again to repleal Proposition 13 property tax cap.

The measure capped property tax rates at 1 percent of the sales price and limited increases to 2 percent a year (plus local bonds). Prop. 13 has been the third rail of California politics—you don't touch it, if you want to live—since then.

Californians' tax rates are among the nation's highest in almost every category, but their property tax levels have remained reasonable. Given high home values, the state still gets a hefty share of those dollars. According to a calculator from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, the annual property taxes on my modest home would increase $15,000 if Proposition 13 were eliminated. I'd be moving out of state.

Liberals have long blamed Prop. 13 for destroying public services, but that's malarkey. The state's total tax take has increased significantly, even on a per-capita basis, over that time. Our government employees are the best paid in the nation, and they receive pension deals that boggle the mind. State budgets have set spending records and schools received a 66-percent funding boost over six years. Services are crummy because of bureaucratic priorities—not funding shortages.

You can consider any new property taxes as pension taxes. The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) are vastly underfunded even after years of record stock-market gains. If recession hits, they could get sucked into an inextricable hole. This is because for years cities and school districts have been passing unaffordable pension increases. Money is fungible, so new property tax dollars—however they are earmarked—will cover up this problem.

California was the first to strike back at Uber and Lyft, which threaten taxi unions, curtail Airbnb (hotel union employees) and charter schools (NEA). It certainly isn’t unique in its hostility to private, free individuals who interfere with socialists’ plans, but it’s the largest state completely controlled by Democrats. If you want a glimpse of the nation’s future under any of the Democrat presidential candidates, glance west. Then flee, if you can, but where?