Price it, sell it. Or don't.

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12 Bryon Road, Old Greenwich, $4.995 million, highest and best offer immediately, now pending six days after hitting the market. Brother Gideon points out that, listing agent Ellen Mosher “has mastered the art of convincing sellers to price low, and let the market take it higher”. And that’s true, but it’s astonishing how hard it can be to convince home sellers that, as some of us have preached for decades, it’s almost impossible to underprice a house on the Greenwich MLS (where its fully-exposed to the market, as opposed to a private sale), but it’s entirely likely to kill a listing by overpricing.

Over the years I’ve blogged here on real estate, I’ve highlight house after house that started out overpriced, lingered on the market for months, even years, before selling for far less than it would have had it been priced correctly; this is true in slow markets as well as fast. If you want top dollar, don’t ask for it, and especially, don’t ask for more.

Just say no to the temptation; you’ll do fine..

Cut taxes, ease environmental regulations, allow cheap energy: imagine if a state did this for all its businesses or, shockingly, if it were done throughout the country?

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“New York: We’re open for business. The right business, at the right price”

If these measures can help one business, why not unleash them all?

New York businesses get shafted as Albany showers $5.5B, endless aid on Idaho’s Micron

Money is a powerful incentive. It helps explain why Micron Technology, the Idaho-based memory chip manufacturer, is looking to set up shop outside Syracuse — an area with no historical link to the company, or to semiconductor manufacturing.

State officials, hoping to break Central New York out of its economic doldrums, promised Micron $5.5 billion in cash-like incentives in 2022.

But on top of that, Albany offered the company a whole lot more to overcome obstacles and costs that other New York businesses routinely face ….

  • For starters, Micron got a big head-start in getting through SEQR (pronounced “seeker”), New York’s onerous environmental review process.

  • SEQR, on a good day, requires developers to pay for studies and jump through hoops to get permission for otherwise routine construction.

  • But the process is frequently abused by project opponents, and developers often have to turn to the courts for help getting things unstuck.

In a nutshell, SEQR scares many developers away from even proposing projects in New York, because there’s so much uncertainty about how long approvals will take — or if they’ll come at all.

Micron looks for the most part to be avoiding that problem.

Onondaga County’s economic development agency will be quarterbacking Micron’s SEQR process, and has already conducted — and paid for — detailed studies to make it easier to give the final sign-off on construction. State economic development officials are also giving Micron white-glove service.

  • And once the plant is built? Micron’s property tax bill will be just a fraction of what it otherwise would, thanks to a steep discount granted by county officials.

Compare that to existing New York companies, who are saddled in many parts of the state with a higher property tax rate than what’s levied on owner-occupied homes (read: voters).

  • Micron, by all indications, will also enjoy a complete exemption from New York’s corporate income tax, which would otherwise shave about 7% off its profits.

  • Micron’s planned manufacturing operations reveal some of the starkest differences between the company and other New York businesses: State officials have promised that it can build a three-mile natural gas pipeline to power the site.

Yet for years state lawmakers have been pushing to make it more costly for new businesses to tie into the gas grid, and regulators have thwarted various proposed pipelines that would provide the needed supply. 

The tightening supply means that parts of New York City and Westchester County have periodically been unable to add gas service at all.

One town about 50 miles south of the proposed Micron site has been under a gas hookup moratorium for a decade, preventing new restaurants and other businesses from opening.

For bigger manufacturers competing in the global market, access to gas can be crucial. When a paper plant in upstate Essex County couldn’t get a pipeline extended, the operator had to turn to a “virtual pipeline” — trucked-in deliveries of compressed natural gas, with drivers making several hour-long trips each day.

Recycling on Tomac UPDATED (just to show how it should be done)

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28 Tomac Avenue is back on the market, essentially unchanged, but with a 47% price improvement from its 2021 sale price: $3.5 million now, $2.370 million then.

The market ebbs and flows: this house sold for $2.6 million in 2006, those buyers made some extensive improvements and tried unsuccessfully to get $2.8 million in 2018 and finally sold it 2021 for the aforesaid $2.370.

But, though markets may change, real estate descriptions can stay exactly as they were: after all, if it worked once, why not try again? Different broker, different agent, but I think the reader will find these familiar:

2025:

Come enjoy the best life has to offer! Swim in the magnificent pool, lounge on the multiple decks, read on the wraparound porch - enjoy this oversized, ½ acre property only minutes walking distance from the beach, school, train and village of Old Greenwich and a stone's throw from the Innis Arden golf course. Move right in to the A. Lincoln Ford house, the best remaining example of the Queen Anne style in town. With an elegantly updated European flare for style and celebration, you will always feel on holiday here. This property offers both an enticing lifestyle as well as a rich heritage and still carries significant future expansion potential. Either way, this exceptional property is not to be missed!”

And from 2021:

Come enjoy the best life has to offer! Swim in the magnificent pool, lounge on the multiple decks, read on the wraparound porch - enjoy this oversized, ½ acre property only minutes walking distance from the beach, school, train and village of Old Greenwich and a stone's throw from the Innis Arden golf course. Move right in to the A. Lincoln Ford house, the best remaining example of the Queen Anne style in town. With an elegantly updated European flare for style and celebration, you will always feel on holiday here. This property offers both an enticing lifestyle as well as a rich heritage and still carries significant future expansion potential. Either way, this exceptional property is not to be missed!

Heck, they even reused the pictures — now, that’s recycling!

2025:

2021:

UPDATE, per GROK:

Step into a piece of history with this charming 1870 home on Tomac Speedway in the heart of Old Greenwich, Connecticut—a true gem that’s been lovingly shaped by three generations of the Havemeyer Irish family. This isn’t just a house; it’s a story, blending vintage character with unique features that make it one-of-a-kind.

Imagine cooking in a professional gourmet kitchen where modern meets heritage—the original coal stove still stands as a nod to the past, ready to inspire your culinary adventures. Out back, you’ll find a master privy outhouse and a smaller children’s privy, offering a quirky slice of yesteryear charm. The above-ground cesspool — with slide! — handles overflow with ease, making seasonal clean-up a breeze and adding to the property’s rustic appeal.

Location? unbeatable. With I-95 overhead, you’ve got instant access to wherever life takes you, all while nestled in the serene, historic vibe of Old Greenwich. The attic boasts full newspaper insulation—a clever, eco-friendly touch from a bygone era—while the vinyl siding (mostly in great shape) and once-galvanized steel roof keep this home standing strong.

Hurry—this rare find won’t last! A blend of history, quirk, and convenience, it’s ready for its next chapter. Could that be with you?

Inventory blues

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Tuesday is broker open house tour day for listings to the west of North Street (and Milbrook — go figure). In better days, there might be two, even three pages of properties to view, and it was almost impossible to get to all of them during the tour’s 10:00 - 2:00 time slot. That won’t be a problem today, because there are only five single-family homes being shown, and only two of those are new to the tour.

Boring.

The DOGE team is bringing in reinforcements

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From Pfizer to the FDA and then back to Pfizer — doin' the Washington Waltz

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And I’ll be at raytheon — we’ll make beautiful music together

Former Top Drug Regulator Lands Cushy Pfizer Gig After Leaving FDA During Trump Transition

Patrizia Cavazzoni, the former director of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, will serve as Pfizer’s Chief Medical Officer, the company announced Monday.

Cavazzoni retired from the FDA shortly before President Trump took office in January. She now rejoins Pfizer after a previous nearly eight-year stint at the company to work in the very industry she was in charge of regulating.

In her new role, Cavazzoni will “lead Pfizer’s regulatory, pharmacovigilance, safety, epidemiology, and medical information and evidence generation, among other medical functions,” the company announced in a press release.

“Here is how it works. FDA rubber stamps Pfizer drugs & vaccines even when the evidence is poor FDA even pushes these products on children,” Dr. Vinay Prasad of the University of California-San Francisco wrote on X.

“Then, you leave FDA and get paid by Pfizer,” he continued. “This is corruption.”

Hey: they fired one whacked-out, incompetent mayor, and elected an even more radical one in her place; what's the surprise?

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chicago’s last Republican mayor left office in 1931

Hello, World!

The machine will just insert another Democrat in the slot, and life in the Windy City will continue its death spiral.

Ah, Eric? You may have a bit of a drinking problem

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February 12, 2025: Multiple Charges for Greenwich Driver Who Blew Through Stop Sign, Fled from Police

Police said an Old Greenwich man faces multiple charges after an incident in the area of the Old Greenwich Civic Center on Feb 12 around 9:00pm.

That is when patrol officers were stopped at a stop sign when an oncoming vehicle blew through the opposing stop sign and crossed into the lane of travel where the patrol car was stopped, such that side view mirrors came into contact.

From there, police said the driver, later identified as Stein Erik Soelberg, 56, of Greenwich, fled the scene at a high rate of speed, disregarding officers signals to stop for some time.

Ultametely a motor vehicle stop was successful and on-scene investigation indicated that Mr. Soelberg was under the influence, displaying slurred speech, bloodshot eyes and was unable to focus on and answer questions.

Soelberg was unable to perform field sobriety tests to standard and was placed under arrest.

2019: Greenwich Man Accused [sic] Of Urinating In Woman's Duffel Bag

GREENWICH, CT — Police said an Old Greenwich man is accused of urinating in a woman's duffel bag outside Greenwich Police headquarters. Police said in a release they received a walk-in report Tuesday afternoon of a "disorderly male" in the lobby of the department.

According to police, a woman reported she has just witnessed Stein Erik Soelberg, 50, urinating inside her duffel bag right outside the department's entrance on Mason Street.

Police said officers subsequently approached the accused, who later admitted to urinating in the bag. He was arrested and charged with second-degree breach of peace and third-degree criminal mischief, police said.

Just sayin’.

Greenwich Girl to fired government workers: get a green job - they should be ready by now

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Well, no, our Jennie didn’t actually say that. But she did tell the 10,000 construction workers fired by her boss that they’d just have to wait until the grand green rebuilding project started. That was in 2021; surely those jobs are ready by now. Too bad about the first set of unemployed.

As a Reminder, Here's How a Federal Employee Reacted to Pipeline Workers Biden FIRED in 2021