Byram Shubert Library Opens

This is great news for the Western side of town as well as for all Greenwichites who take advantage of this resource. Here is the article from the local paper announcing the opening.

Greenwich has one of the best library systems in the country and my family and I are happy to have access to it.

6 Ernel Dr - Sale Under $1.0mln

This well maintained and presented property on a cul-de-sac off Sound Beach Avenue Ext in Riverside sold for $750,000 Friday. This sale is a good pointer to value below the $1.0mln mark.

The property previously sold for $792,000 in June 2005. It was relisted for sale in March '08 for $850,000. The owner lowered the list price to $770,000 in Feb '09 and it went to contract shortly after.

I like Ernel Drive. Its a cul-de-sac of 7 houses and offers a low-traffic environment for residents with young children to stroll safely. The street has not been overbuilt and maintains a scale and balance that I find attractive. The 50s-era Capes sit well on their sites and from the several houses I've been in, the houses have been upgraded over the years and well maintained. It makes a difference when all houses on a street are in the same good condition.

The house itself sits on a flat 0.14acres and has a nice backyard enclosed by a decorative fence. It is not a large house, but at nearly 1,500sqft with 3bedrooms and 2 baths, it offers more than an apartment in the City or most condos in town. Plus it gets good light, has new appliances and infrastructure. It is a skip to the Post Road, I-95 and two skips to the Old Greenwich train station. Overall the property offers much.

154 Cognewaugh Rd - One Down (almost)

Looks like Greenwich will have one less spec house on the market. This property in Cos Cob went to contract today. The last list price was $3.150mln, which is down 36% from the original asking price of $4.895mln back in July 2007.

Crunching the numbers, the developer bought the property for $1.4mln (3 years ago) and then built 5,234sqft above grade (7,743sqft including finished space below grade). If I assume $300sqft build cost on above grade area, we get $1,570,200 build cost. When we add land cost, we get $2,970,200 or pretty much breakeven at this point (considering RE commissions and fees). When we add in 3 years of financing costs, it would seem the developer walks away with a loss.

By the way, the property was developed by Santora Brothers LLC and built by Pecora Brothers. These guys have been in the business a while and do a solid job.

80 Perkins Rd and Yankee Baseball

Sounds like the recently hired NY Yankee first baseman, Mark Teixeira purchased this property.

The team website also notes that, "By committing to a eight-year, $180 million contract, Teixeira is in New York for the long haul. His wife, Leigh, is busily moving into a new home in Greenwich, Conn.,...".

Congratulations to the family and welcome to Greenwich.

17 Marshall: Hmmmm?

I'm stumped. After undergoing what sounds like a major renovation in 2007, this property came on the market in February '08 for $895,000. It didn't sell. Today, a year later, the property is back on the market and voila, the price is $995,000. As far as I can tell from the property listing, nothing has been done to upgrade the property since the last listing.

So, help me. How does one rationalize a $100,000 price increase during one of the worst years in Greenwich real estate in decades? I know, I'm getting on thin ice when I start asking about a rationale for pricing, but someone has to do it. Maybe after I see the property at the Broker open house, I can shed some light on this puzzle. Who knows, maybe the property was severely under priced last go round and the market missed this opportunity.

80 Perkins Rd

Word on the street is that this property sold to a professional baseball player fresh from signing a $180mln contract. Nice house by a good builder. Sale price was $6.70mln or +/-16% off the list of $7.95mln. The property sold yesterday, but went to contract in Jan '09 about 2 1/2 months after being listed for sale--that's darn good! For background, the developer purchased the property in Nov '07 for $2.695mln.

Continuing Tale of Woe on Greenwich Avenue

I posted on this subject on March 3, and today there is this article from Bloomberg detailing the sorry state of affairs on Greenwich Avenue.

As Queen would say, another one bites the dust, or so it looks with commercial property in town.