Monthly Archives: May 2009
Update on 186 Shore Road
Commenting on my first post about this property (below) a reader asked why I “waste my time viewing obviously overpriced listings”. Generally, I don’t – if I see a new listing that’s light years from what the street it’s on … Continue reading
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You don’t get the Nobel for brains
Anyone who doubted the the intellectual strength of Nobel Prize recipients after Al Gore got his gong must really be scratching his head after Obama’s new Energy Secretary, Nobel Prize winner Dr. Chu, suggested that we paint all our roofs … Continue reading
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Well this should be interesting
186 Shore Road used to be occupied by a nifty little cape, and I would often get inquiries from my clients asking what they might be able to buy it for. I would explain that, while the small house was … Continue reading
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If this is true, won’t Fred Bourke be cheesed?
Bill Clinton involved in illegal uranium deal, bribery of foreign officials. After all, the only difference in what the two men are alleged to have done is that Mr. Bourke never served as President of the United States. Here’s BusinessInsider’s story, … Continue reading
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Obama Debt
Instapundit has posted this chart a number of times but since it never seems to make it to the pages of the New York Times and our president keeps claiming that he’s only spending because that ol’ Debbil’ Bush made … Continue reading
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Pequot Capital shuts down amid investigation
Too bad. If anyone was guilty of insider trading, as alleged, I’m sure it wasn’t the founder. But there they go anyway, according to the WSJ. I feel a certain sympathy for the commercial broker who just booked them into 26,000 … Continue reading
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One sale, no contracts today
15 Maher Avenue sold for $2,509,500 today, down from its asking price of $2.850 but not bad, considering that they paid just $2.675 for it in 2007. That’s almost a break-even; testament to Maher Avenue’s continuing appeal. The tax card … Continue reading
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Stephen Dent avoids jail, sex partners not so lucky
Riverside patron of the nocturnal arts Stephen “Dido” Dent sent his attorney to court today to watch a husband wife extortion team get sentenced: 18 months for him, probation for her. That’s all fun, but I was intrigued by the … Continue reading
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More money for the bank, less for the seller
As reader Polly points out, the Treasury 10 year is “exploding” (to use her term) today, with mortgage rates climbing right up after them. Those of us who predict huge inflation also predict higher mortgage rates and, at least up … Continue reading
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Start warming up the next crisis
Sanity about global warming is creeping in. In France, Sarkozy wants to appoint a warming-skeptic to head up the ministry of industry and innovation. Closer to home, the creators of Beavis and Butt-head hit the airwaves tonight with a new … Continue reading
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Those who forget history
There’s a property I’ve been keeping my eye on for a client and its pricing history is illuminating. Originally priced at $5.3 million in 2004 it lingered three years on the market before selling for $3.3 million. The new owners, … Continue reading
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Homer Audubon nods
In replying to a reader’s comments regarding the relative merits of tidal waterfront I mentioned the fun of watching ibexes in the mud. That would indeed be entertaining, what with their hooves getting stuck in the mud and all, but … Continue reading
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Take that, you stubborn buyer!
One Charter Oak Lane, a new house on the I-95 side of Byram Shore Road, dropped its price from $3.2 million to $2.765 a week ago, apparently without eliciting a favorable response. So okay, you asked for it, today they’ve … Continue reading
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Down, down, down
23 Egglestone Lane is a nice, smallish and dated (1918?) house with direct waterfront on Old Greenwich Harbor. It sold for $3.1 million back in 2001, when that was considered a fair bit of change, and was listed again in … Continue reading
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From our Boston reader, the same news
Boston Globe: Housing market’s a bust. It’s a “tale of two markets,” said Nicolas Retsinas, director of Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. One market is dominated by motivated sellers, including banks trying to unload foreclosed properties and distressed … Continue reading
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The end of Pixie Dust
My liberal friends simply refused to believe me when I said that they couldn’t magically spend endless amounts of money without finding a way to pay for it. “But it’s all Bush’s fault”, they’d whine, and that was supposed to … Continue reading
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California – not an ounce of fat to spare
Business Insider has a report showing some high paid California municipal workers. Like a nurse earning $350,000, lots more paper pushers at $250,000, etc. Multiply that largess across the state and its no wonder that bureaucrats first (and only) reaction to … Continue reading
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Hope and change on Boulder Brook Road
Nine Boulder Brook, the best of three spec houses on that street, has cut its price to $5.5 million, 25% less than its original asking price of $7.250. The builder paid $2 million for the land and, what – $2.1 … Continue reading
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April sales of existing homes up, but so is inventory
So says the national data released today. In Greenwich, Shore & Country’s invaluable statistics page shows a current inventory of 765 single family homes, up from 628 in 2008, 560 in 2007 and 531 in 2006. By my (admittedly poor) … Continue reading
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Die trying
The Wall Street Journal has an opinion piece this morning that looks at the value of investing in a house and concludes that it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Fair enough, but that doesn’t slow the optimists of … Continue reading
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