12 Rocky Pt. Lane
I mentioned last week that I’d seen a new listing in Old Greenwich that I thought was in such a good location and was such a nice house that a bidding war was inevitable. That house was 12 Rocky Point and sure enough, highest and best offers are due at 9:00 this morning. How come so fast? Pricing, for which the listing agent Christie Frazier and the seller are to be congratulated.
The house was priced at $3.375 and of the nineteen houses currently for sale in Riverside and Old Greenwich priced between $3.250 and $4.250, this was to my mind the hands-on best house in that inventory. Obviously buyers agreed as the frenzy of activity surrounding it proves. And this same house offers an excellent illustration of what happens when you overprice a house. In 2006, the previous owners priced it at $3.995 million, eventually dropped it to $3.650 and after 209 days, sold it for $3.4 million in March, 2007, just about the peak of the real estate market.
This time around it was priced slightly below that 2007 price and because of the high prices of other comparable houses, drew the attention of every buyer in this price range looking to live in Riverside or Old Greenwich and will undoubtedly fetch more even than the $3.4 paid for it five years ago. I’m guessing anywhere between $3.425 to as much, maybe, as $3.550. So the seller can move on after just four days while other sellers will sit and stew. There’s a lesson here, but I doubt those sellers will learn it.
For What It's Worth 
that method works great in a market/area that is hot and active like OG and RVSD – not so well in areas (like backcountry) that are languishing with little or no interest….
Good pricing will work better in even a dormant area when compared to overpricing. Why do you think those areas are dormant?
the main buyers of areas that are slow are bargainhunters, vs the deluge of sellers who are overleveraged/downsizing/forced sellers (including banks)
the OG/RVSD areas have the new blood coming in from Manhattan, expats, etc and are generally lower in average/median prices – so it can naturally attract a larger audience
Fair to say that OG and Riverside good locations have gone up over the past 3 years while the rest of Greenwich has gone down. Good houses in OG are at or just below peak valuations because there is no supply.
House looks fantastic. Congratulations to the buyer.