REAL ESTATE
Land, Not a Lot of It In Greenwich
By Mark Pruner There is not much land in Greenwich, which is interesting given that Greenwich is the second largest town in Fairfield County after Newtown. Curiously, it’s hard to put a number on an exact number on just how much land we have. Lots of websites use 47.83 square miles as the area of Greenwich, but a town annual report says 50.6 square miles. Wikipedia says 67.2 miles, but this includes the water. Luckily, the Realtors in town don’t sell much water, though for many years, the lowest priced listing in Greenwich was for a boat slip on the Mianus estuary.
Never developed land in Greenwich is a particularly rare commodity. In the last 380 years since Greenwich’s founding, just about every lot worth building on has been built on. We get most of our raw land listings f rom subdivisions of oversized lots where the house is on one lot and the formerly empty extra acreage becomes another lot. Fire, unfortunately, is also another source of “raw” land as it doesn’t take much of a fire to condemn a whole house. The smoke damage, and the water damage from putting out the f ire, often mean that the total cost to clean up the house, eliminate the smoke smell from carpets, walls and ceilings as well as to reconstruct the actual fire and water damaged areas can quickly exceed the costs of building a new house. I have this exact situation in backcountry Greenwich where we will be putting on a very developable 8.7 acres for $1.49 million. Land sales appear artificially low So how does land sell compared to houses? If you look at the raw numbers, the answer would be not well. Last year we only had 15 sales of land that totaled 77 acres or 5.1 acres on average. On the single family home sales side, we had 527 sales that totaled 734 acres or 1.39 acres per sale. Land listings are larger and don’t seem to sell as well. The larger factor is due to the oversized lots being listed for sale as land. The poorer sales are actually an artifact of the way that sales are reported on the Greenwich MLS. As mentioned, most land listings actually have a house on the land and are usually also listed as a residential listing. When the property sales, the agent has to change the status on one listing to “sold” and the other listing to “cancelled”. Most agents pick the residential listing to be the sold listing and cancel the land listing. The result is that sales of listings for land are significantly under-reported.
Less Than 1% Is Available For Sale As Land If we take the 47.83 square miles number and multiple it by 640 acres per square mile, we come up with 30,611 acres which is quite a bit of land. So where are we short of land? The land that there is not a lot of in Greenwich, is land listed for sale. As of this week we only have 69 land listings in Greenwich compared with 484 listings for single family homes. The land listings total 243 acres, while the residential listings total 938 acres. Only 0.79% of the land in Greenwich is available for sale as land. Interestingly, our land listings are very evenly spread throughout town from Banksville to Byram and Backcountry to Belle Haven. Of the 69 land listings that we presently have 19 are in backcountry, 18 are in mid-country and 20 are in the southeast part of Greenwich, Cos Cob, Riverside and Old Greenwich. Tips on working with As you might expect with either developers on land sales raw land or a teardown, the average I’m part of the New price for a land listing is lower, $2.22 Development Group at Berkshire million versus a single family home Hathaway and we deal with a lot listing, $4.11 million. of builders and developers. To
their credit, none of the builders that I know of, want to be known for building cheap houses. Cheap c o n s t r u c t i o n d o e s n’t s e l l i n Greenwich. (An out of town builder tried to do that in Pemberwick using lots of plastic; on the front porch, on the siding and in the windows. It was a tough sale, that hung around for a long time.) Bu i lders a re i nterested i n getting the land for as cheap as possible as every dollar they save is an extra dollar of profit. Agents who work with developers know what they are looking for and will often contact owners of developable land directly, often by letter, to see if they might want to sell. (Owners should be a little cautious as a few agents have been known to exaggerate just how active the buyer is to get a listing.) A developer/buyer needs a low price if they are to make a prof it. I know one prominent loca l developer who strong ly believes that prices of land need to come down more for there to be significant new development to meet our demand for new housing. When we represent developers, we have several nonmonetar y incentives that can make a developer’s lower price more appealing. For example, the closing date can be flexible. Some buyers want a quick close and no mortgage contingency and our more well-f inanced sellers can do that. On the other hand, I just had a seller in Riverside who was older and was downsizing. She needed a longer closing time to arrange for her children to take the furniture they want, arrange a tag sale and sign a contract with the place where she wanted to move. Another cost saving and hassle saving in a private sell to a developer is that the homeowner doesn’t have to stage the house and keep it constantly in pristine shape ready for a showing. I also often ask that the seller be allowed to leave whatever they want in the house that is being torn down. This not only saves the seller money, but it is also a major time saver and stress reliever. A lower price from a developer does not necessarily mean a lower value to the seller.
Custom building your own home Land listings are unique and need to be looked at carefully. If you plan on building a custom house in a new development, it really helps to know what the neighbors are going to build. I have a land listing with Carline Martin in a new development off of Sherwood Avenue and the fact that we have
two large, beautiful, newly built houses on each side certainly makes the property more valuable as the buyer can see what the neighborhood will look like. If you want to build a house, it helps to have an agent and an architect who is familiar with the requirements at planning and zoning, wetlands, floor area ratios and setbacks, green areas, wells or
town water, and septic or sewers. When you are building your dream house, you have lots of options, but also lots of rules to follow, but in the end you have just the way you want. Mark Pruner is an award winning Realtor with Berkshire Hathaway in Greenwich, CT. He is also a director of their New Development Group. He can be reached at 203-969-7900 or mark@bhhsne.com
This Week's Featured Home 5 Holeman Lane in Old Greenwich
By Robert Pulitano 5 Holeman Lane – Fantastic Home in the best Location well priced at $1,890,000! Old Greenwich was settled as a farming community in 1640 and by the mid-nineteenth century naturally turned into a popular weekend retreat for New York City’s elite to enjoy it’s beautiful shoreline. In 1894 the Sound B e a c h R a i l r o a d S t at i o n w a s built, later to be called the Old Greenwich Station. A trolly transported people from the train station, down Sound Beach Avenue to the many inns that sprouted up in the vicinity of Tod’s Point. 5 Holman Lane was built in 1898 along with 7 Holman Lane as
two of the inns. Although number 5 Hol ma n has been en la rged to meet the needs of modern living, it still maintains it’s early colonial “beach house” charm with beautiful antique wide plank wood f looring and welcoming covered front porch which wraps around to the open sky on the kitchen and breakfast room side of the house. In an ef fort to compile information to do an expose on 5 Holman Lane, I reached out to the owners to hear what they liked most about their home. His highlights about how he and his wife enjoyed raising their family tell it all – which you will see is unique to this section of Old Greenwich, but especially to 5 Holman Lane. Here it is below: - The location 1 mile to town
a nd 1 m i le to t he b e ach w a s extremely convenient. Jonna and I would bike to the beach with our backpack chairs frequently. We could easily meet with friends and families for beach picnics. -We always kept extra bikes and helmets so the kids could have friends over and independently bike to town - Garden Catering, the yogurt shop, bagel shop, sweet Pea, etc. -It was great for my runs either alone or with my daughter, exactly 5 mile loop from Holman around Tods point. We always kept water toys - kayaks, stand up paddle boards, beach chairs and they were frequently used. -Proximity to the train in the village was great for commuting to NYC. Proximity to the Stamford
Station was also super convenient for catching Amtrak. - Additionally we loved the peace and quiet being at the end of a lane - no through traffic, no I95 noise. It was great fun watching all the neighborhood, including our own, learning how to ride bikes, skate, or rollerblade on Holman. The front yard was big enough to stage epic whiff le ball games, touch football, croquet and spike ball. - We enjoyed how the house layout. It afforded family and g uests their ow n space. The downstairs became our sons man cave and game room where on weekends we hosted his friends for sleepovers. The attic was a getaway for our daughter and her friends. The nanny suite was ideal
for our visiting parents who were from out of town. They had their own suite - living room, bedroom, bathroom, so they never felt like they were getting in our way, and we loved being able to host guests so easily. -The wrap around porch was home to many gatherings and BBQs. Being on the second floor, we were a bove t he bugs a nd mosquitos. We hosted birthday parties, and slumber party dinners on the deck. -We really appreciated the privacy being tucked away and on a decent sized lot. We could take hot tubs under the stars without feeling on display. We enjoyed planting annuals/f lowers like impatients every spring adding color a nd r em i nd i ng u s how
beautiful the spot is. - We loved cook ing in the bright big k itchen. It was big e n o u g h s o e ve r y b o d y c o u l d pa r t icipate a nd help out a nd socialize. -Having a two-car attached garage was also a great conven ience. We cou ld load / unload irrespective of weather. There was plenty of parking for kid’s cars and friends’ cars when the house was full. Extra space in the basement was great for extra freezers and refrigerators. The bottom line is that the owner’s loved their house due to a very special reason – it was the perfect place to raise their family! Rob Pulitano can be reached at [203] 561-8092.
Page 15 | Greenwich Sentinel | February 21, 2020
REAL ESTATE DASHBOARD Deborah Ference-Gray
REAL ESTATE DASHBOARD MASTHEAD DASHBOARD EDITOR
Mark Pruner | Mark@GreenwichStreets.com | mark@bhhsne.com
CONTRIBUTORS
One Pickwick Plaza Greenwich, CT 06830
Office: 203.618.3155 Mobile: 917.584.4903
For Market Updates and Listings Visit deborahferencegray.com
deborah.ferencegray@sothebyshomes.com
Robert Pulitano | RobertPulitano@bhhsne.com Cesar Rabillino | CesarRabellino@bhhsne.com Pam Toner | PToner@HoulihanLawrence.com Visit www.GreenwichSentinel.com to sign up for 5 Things To Do in Greenwich Today for events and up to date open house listings each weekend.
NEW SALES
FEATURED OPEN HOUSES
Data Compiled by Cesar Rabellino (203) 249-9866
Data Compiled by Rob Pulitano [203] 561-8092
Address 30 Pleasant Street Rental 24 Forest Avenue Rental 8 View Street #8 Rental 52 Lafayette Place #1C 25 Indian Harbor Drive #9 360 Cognewaugh Road 1065 King Street 8 View Street #8 40 Crescent Road 72 Havemeyer Place #A 72 Havemeyer Place #A 23 Pleasant Street 218 Valley Road 8 Tinker Lane 2 Old Church Road #2 43 Mianus View Terrace 6 Upland Drive 5 Holman Lane 39 North Ridge Road 418 Harbor Road 21 Kenilworth Terrace 70 Sound View Dr Penthouse E. 101 Dingletown Road 26 Cobb Island Drive 487 Lake Avenue 15 Old Mill Road 4 Doverton Drive 27 Evergreen Road 11 Nawthorne Road 7 Bryon Road 500 Lake Avenue
Area Riverside Old Greenwich Greenwich Greenwich Greenwich Cos Cob Greenwich Greenwich Riverside Greenwich Greenwich Riverside Cos Cob Greenwich Greenwich Cos Cob Greenwich Old Greenwich Old Greenwich Southport Greenwich Greenwich Greenwich Greenwich Greenwich Greenwich Greenwich Greenwich Old Greenwich Old Greenwich Greenwich
Price $4,700 $5,300 $5,950 $349,000 $975,000 $1,019,000 $1,090,000 $1,195,000 $1,347,000 $1,395,000 $1,395,000 $1,595,000 $1,649,000 $1,775,000 $1,850,000 $1,875,000 $1,875,000 $1,890,000 $2,095,000 $2,395,000 $2,950,000 $3,395,000 $3,495,000 $3,550,000 $3,685,000 $3,995,000 $4,450,000 $5,150,000 $6,395,000 $6,395,000 $7,100,000
Day/Time Sun 1-3 PM Sun 1-3 PM Sun 1-3 PM Sun 1-3 PM Sun 1-3 PM Sun 12-2 PM Sun 1-3 PM Sun 1-3 PM Sun 1-3 PM Sat 1-3 PM Sun 1-3 PM Sun 1-3 PM Sun 1-3 PM Sun 1-3 PM Sun 12-2 PM Sun 1-4 PM Sun 1-3 PM Sun 11-1:30 PM Sun 1-3 PM Sun 1-4 PM Sun 1-3 PM Sun 2-4 PM Sat 1-3 PM Sun 2-4 PM Sun 1-3 PM Sun 1-3 PM Sun 2:30-4:30 PM Sun 1-4 PM Sun 1-3 PM Sun 1-3 PM Sun 1-3 PM
Broker Sotheby's Coldwell Banker Berkshire Hathaway Houlihan Lawrence Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Houlihan Lawrence Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway William Raveis Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Sotheby's Berkshire Hathaway Sotheby's Houlihan Lawrence William Raveis Abart Estate, LLC Sotheby's Sotheby's Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Sotheby's Sotheby's Sotheby's
Receive the Printed Edition Every Week www.greenwichsentinel.com/subscribe/
BOTOX.
Right between the eyes.
Address
5 Putnam Hill 1D 4 Putnam Hill 2D 50 Sound Beach Avenue 101 Lewis Street D 60 Lockwood Lane 76 Circle Drive 8 Watch Tower Lane 70 Sound View Drive 2-South 8 Robin Place 70 Sound View Drive PHW 25 Tomac Avenue
Original List
$315,000 $415,000 $669,000 $1,295,000 $1,565,000 $1,595,000 $1,749,000 $2,495,000 $2,595,000 $3,495,000 $4,595,000
List Price
$257,000 $315,000 $599,000 $1,295,000 $1,565,000 $1,495,000 $1,749,000 $2,495,000 $2,350,000 $3,495,000 $4,250,000
Sold Price DOM BR FB Acres
$248,000 $300,000 $575,000 $1,150,000 $1,470,000 $1,312,500 $1,712,500 $2,200,000 $2,300,018 $3,200,000 $4,000,000
217 450 210 189 246 122 126 134 204 165 554
1 2 2 3 4 5 4 2 6 3 6
1 1 1 2 3 4 3 2 5 3 6
SqFt 910
1,060 1,015 2,292 3,448 3,540
0.14 0 0.28 0.28 0.3
2,088 5,758 2,278 7,250
0.31 0 1.02
NEW LISTINGS
Data Compiled by Cesar Rabellino (203) 249-9866 Address
List Price
Price/SqFt
SqFt
1535 Putnam Avenue 306 1465 Putnam Avenue 532 75 Cos Cob Avenue 8 169 Mason Street UNIT 4A 108 Weaver Street B 33 W Putnam Avenue 2G 20 Morgan Avenue 21 Sound Beach Avenue 25 Indian Harbor Drive 9 41 Sundance Drive 52 Hunt Terrace 92 Old Stone Bridge Road 118 Bowman Drive 6 Upland Drive 72 Riverside Lane 2 Jenifer Lane 35 Boulder Brook Road 15 Grossett Road 49 Sumner Road 560 North Street 4 Sound Shore Drive 2A 3 Intervale Place 50 Indian Head Road 6 Raymond Street 22 Old Club House Road 65 Clapboard Ridge Road 51 Willowmere Circle 4 Old Round Hill Lane 19 Meadow Drive 205 Round Hill Road 24 Rock Ridge Avenue 135 Field Point Circle
$319,000 $385,000 $485,000 $619,900 $679,000 $799,999 $875,000 $945,000 $975,000 $1,175,000 $1,295,000 $1,475,000 $1,795,000 $1,875,000 $2,100,000 $2,195,000 $2,295,000 $2,695,000 $2,795,000 $2,795,000 $2,850,000 $2,895,000 $3,250,000 $3,399,000 $3,875,000 $6,995,000 $8,490,000 $9,995,000 $10,750,000 $14,500,000 $14,750,000 $19,990,000
$478 $491 $356 $689 $449 $620 $675 $559 $510 $450 $535 $344 $482 $521 $600
668 784 1,362 900 1,512 1,291 1,296 1,690 1,912 2,613 2,422 4,288 3,721 3,599 3,500
$488 $738 $615 $671 $928 $663 $735 $629 $1,050 $598 $2,123 $628 $922 $1,526 $1,554 $2,028
4,700 3,652 4,542 4,164 3,072 4,366 4,423 5,400 3,692 11,692 4,000 15,916 11,658 9,500 9,489 9,856
$385
5,706
AC
0
0 0 0 0 0.12 0.24 0 0.3 0.3 1.01 1 1.5 0.29 0.48 1.07 0.77 4 2.67 0 0.88 0.72 0.29 0.47 3.85 0.26 3.15 2.1 5.12 2.42 2.48
BR
FB
Area
1 1 3 2 3 2 4 3 3 4 4 4 4 3 4 6 5 6 5 4 3 4 5 5 4 6 4 7 6 7 7 6
1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 3 4 3 4 2 3 6 5 4 4 2 4 3 5 5 4 6 4 9 7 7 8 7
Old Greenwich Old Greenwich Cos Cob South of Post Road Glenville South Parkway Pemberwick Old Greenwich South of Post Road Cos Cob Glenville Cos Cob Glenville South Parkway Riverside Cos Cob South Parkway Riverside North Parkway South Parkway South Parkway South of Post Road Riverside Old Greenwich Old Greenwich South Parkway Riverside North Parkway South Parkway South Parkway South Parkway North Parkway
1067
North ST. Greenwich,CT 203-861-4020 If your closest friends keep suggesting you ought to “lighten up a little” it could be just overactive facial muscles. Dr. Fucigna can correct frown lines in about 10 minutes with a few tiny injections of Botox cosmetic.
Visit us!
www.happinessiscatering.com
The improvement will hit you - right between the eyes
See Dr. Fucigna
& ...Don’t forget to ORDER online from our
Wed/Thurs/Fri
dinner menu...
Robert J. Fucigna, M.D. Advanced Ophthalmology.
1455 East Putnam Avenue, Old Greenwich, CT (203) 348-7575 • www.aoct.co
Give it a try, USe discount code:
WTF
.