Stop and think about what you actually get for your money in the Greenwich backcountry vs. the Old Greenwich/Riverside sections of town; you’d swear we were using different currencies, depending on where in town you buy…
Here’re a couple of examples: both these properties recently sold for around a million and a half, but what a difference, just in lot size alone! Yet, it’s the same number of US dollars, and I guarantee both buyers are perfectly happy with what they got and wouldn’t even consider swapping with each other.
14 Irvine, Old Greenwich, CT, has closed at $1,538,888. For that, you got a nice little house on a sprawling .15 acres (imagine a square that measures 80′ X 80′ !).
67 Sumner Road, Greenwich closes at $1,550,000. For that, you must agree to live 8 miles outta town BUT, you get a nice big 5-bedroom contemporary, 4.87 acres, a pool, a tennis court, decks, terraces, 5-car garage, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera!
list: Marta Stroll
sell: Dorothy Salisbury
67 Sumner Road
list: Bettina Hegel
sell: Lee Prince
Greenwich Bored And Razed 
Great post. I am enjoying it a lot. I’d love to see you with a radio show. Heard you on Simone. I know I have made a few faux pas myself, but I am on a quest to reinstate the word “are” to our vocabulary. Here’s a couple vs here are a couple…see below. I know you get it. Great Thanksgiving to you and your family. Best always, Diane
Divey:
Sigh….ok, I changed here’s to here’re, everybody happy?
I heard about a guy who spent about $300k+ more and got a house on a creek in Riverside with it’s own pig barn with a water view.
One:
No one would be THAT foolish!
Agreeable architecture in OG. Sumner??? Well, I’ll follow my old mum’s advice and say nuttin at all.
Libs:
Ol’ Mum was very wise. As for contemporary architecture, it’s true, they’re often hard to look at, but the interiors and the views to the outside that they provide are hard to beat.
Even more fun when you compare assessed value and taxes…. Obviously the recent attempt at normalization still has a way to go?
Please keep up blogging. Your thoughtful posts are cool.
D:
Look at me, I’m blushing!
So… do you think our town will keep changing the balance of the tax burden? Think the backcountry house should see flat to decreasing taxes over the next 5-10 where Riverside and OG folks will see pretty serious increases?
D:
The town taxes property owners on what the assessor’s office says a property’s worth, so yeah, if the backcountry section continues to sell for 50% less than close-to-town sections, that is the way it will be. “5-10 years” is a long way out, not possible to forecast, but if I HAD to guess, I’d say backcountry has already begun to regain its former popularity.