1 Charter Oak
Hmm – here’s a project that’s not going well, and no wonder. First of all, the builder, an experienced local boy so who knows what was going through his head, paid $1.5 for the land back in August 2007. Not only was that awful timing, he paid the record amount for the street and previous sales included a house (!). Charter Oak may be, as the listing for this describes, “in the Byram Shore area” but as everyone knows, Byram Shore Road on the waterside is a completely different animal than the landside, and Charter Oak is landside. We’re talking $23 million vs. $1 million, just to give you perspective. 100 feet, $22 million – go figure.
Okay, so he over-paid for the land. Next up, he lists it for $3.2 million last January, or 3X more than anything on the street has sold for before. It’s a wonderful house and some family will be very happy in it but who would pay that much to be a pioneer? No one, apparently, because he eventually, and much too late, lowered the price to $2.995 in March. Today he made another mistake by lowering it again by just $200,000 to $2.765 million. I keep saying this but it can’t hurt to try again: at this price range, buyers have already discounted your offering by at least that much, so if you aren’t getting offers, itsy-bitsy price cuts aren’t going to do it. Go big or stay home, says I.
Oh, and one final mistake? Check out the snow in the picture. On the eve of Memorial Day, I can’t think of a better way of demonstrating that no one, buyers, seller or listing broker, has any interest in this house. Not smart.
For What It's Worth 
Good point about the picture. The fact that the picture still has snow on it is proof that the agent thinks it is way over priced and is in no way interested in spending any more time or money until the seller get serious about selling it.
Gideon do you see how it is supposed to work? (I’m just messing around don’t get nasty)
I know you know how it works.
If I were a prospective buyer for a home in this price range, I would want to be nestled on a street with homes of similar price point and age. There is safety in numbers.
Perhaps I am mistaken, but as you stated, on the shore side of the street you have $10-20mm homes and on the inland side you have $1 to 3mm homes at bubble prices. Just beyond that is I-95 and Byram proper. The situation makes for a rather small neighborhood when one side of the street is never going to talk to you (from behind their 10ft stone walls and guard dogs) and the other side is a highway. Yes you have some neighbors at your corresponding means, but its a small group.
Come on now, CC, those truckers can be a friendly bunch. Just bring ’em some lemonade next time traffic’s stacked up on the Thruway and you’ll see!
Let face facts, on the water side you are exposed to a hundred years of dumping of toxic substances into the river. It is a superfund site waiting to happen, or at least a cancer cluster. Love your childen? Avoid Byram near the river and head to Riverside/Old Greenwich. Dont believe me? Take a boat ride down the river, look at the ecology and think about the past 100 years of industrial history in Port Chester/Byram.
Does Poetic justice mean that there is danger along the river or on both sides, open water side also???