I'd previously written that this sale at 33 John Street was a sign that not all was doom and gloom in the back country

33 John Street

When Tommy Motola’s house was reported under contract at almost 15 million, I thought that sum indicated that there were still multi-millionaires willing to spend huge sums for back country; there are, but only at a steep discount.

The Wall Street Journal reports the discouraging news:

Music executive Tommy Mottola has sold his Georgian-style Greenwich, Conn. estate for $14.875 million, or 25% off its original asking price. 

Mr. Mottola first listed the property for sale for $19.95 million in April, 2017, The Wall Street Journal reported. He and his wife, Mexican pop star Thalia, had been living there for several years at the time and had spent about three years designing and building the house, he said in a 2017 interview. Mr. Mottola bought the 5.7-acre parcel for $2.85 million in 2010.

….

The Greenwich market has fallen significantly the past year, with few deals at this price point. According to a report by Douglas Elliman, Greenwich home prices slipped 16.7% in the fourth quarter, compared with the same period in 2017. The luxury market—characterized as the top 10% of homes—fell by 18.8%.

I imagine that the owners of these houses can afford to take a hit without fatal financial effect but still, it must sting.

And I'm back!

Couldn't post yesterday, but that’s been fixed, so I’ll resume posting later today — still busy attending to matters I neglected while I was gone.

Speaking Of Quick Sales

16 Norton Lane, Old Greenwich (in the Hillcrest Park Association). Asked $2,950,000. Got $2,800,000.

List: Chris Fountain/Michael Dinneen

Sell: Susan Isaak

I forgot to give credit where credit is due… Dinneen and Fountain put this place on at the very wise price of $2.950M and had a deal a few days later, for $2.8M. Chris and Mr. Dinneen got it staged beautifully, photographed perfectly, and on and off the market in a matter of days, exactly how it’s supposed to work!

Houlihan’s Susan Isaak provided the buyer.

How's The Market?

Chris is on vacation, so brother Gideon will provide occasional updates on the Greenwich real estate market

I’m hearing loads of complaints from fellow brokers about how slow the market is. Year-to-year, volume in some parts of town is down 50+ percent, which does sound a bit scary. But there’s a part of town where volume is actually up: The backcountry, referred to as “north of the parkway”.

Could it be because sellers up there long ago threw in the towel and cut their asking prices? The answer is yes, and, as a result, some of the best deals in Greenwich can be had there. Want a big house with guest quarters, pool, tennis, extra acres, and privacy, all for $1M less than a 4,500 sq.ft. new construction in Riverside on half an acre? Head for the hills!

It is worth noting that, as usual, the top agents are all having a great year, despite this slow market. I think it’s because top agents have more credibility than less experienced ones. A top agent tells the client “No, your house is not worth $4M, it is worth $3M”, and the client listens and prices accordingly. The result: a quick sale. Newer agents, lacking experience and depth of market knowledge, don’t have the authority needed to influence the client, so they end up taking a listing at a crazy price, either because the client suggests it, or the agent mistakenly believes the property is worth it. The result: one or two years of misery, with endless showings, multiple public and broker open houses, and ultimately, loss of the listing.

Here are three fresh examples of how it should be done:

58 Winthrop Drive, Riverside

Asked $1,649,000, attracted multiple bids immediately, closed today at $1,910,822.

List: Russ Pruner

Sell: Liz Dagnino

12 Bryon Road, Old Greenwich

Came on the last week of March at $3,550,000, immediately attracted multiple bids, now pending. Smart, smart pricing. While others sit and wait, this one sold.

List: Ellen Mosher

Sell: Lynne Carriello

190 Clapboard Ridge Road, Greenwich

Listed in the middle of March at $6,790,000, reports pending today. Again, VERY smart pricing.

List: Leslie McElwreath

Sell: Diddle McAllister

Almost, but not quite

I figure Instapundit readers can do the heavy lifting

Mueller report: no collusion, but wait!

Trump cheats at golf

It won’t end until he leaves office, which I hope is 2025.

And there go the last jobs for liberal arts majors

You want cream and sugar with that?

Robots outperform baristas

In the food industry, it seems, the robot revolution is well underway, with machines mastering skilled tasks that have always been performed by people.

In Boston, robots have replaced chefs and are creating complex bowls of food for customers. In Prague, machines are displacing bartenders and servers using an app. In Denver, they're taking orders at a fast food drive through.

Robots are even making the perfect loaf of bread these days, taking charge of an art that has remained in human hands for thousands of years.

Now comes Briggo, a company that has created a fully automated, robotic brewing machine that that can push out 100 cups of coffee in a single hour -- equaling the output of three to four baristas, according to the company.

Using a blend of Latin American beans, the machine -- known as a "coffee haus" -- creates customized cups of gourmet coffee that can be ordered via an app, giving customers control over ingredients, espresso shots, flavorings and temperature without any human interaction. The company says no other business in the world has applied as much technology to "specialty coffee."

Well at least we don't live in Westport

WTF?

Westport police looking for woman who’s been repeatedly delivering a headless chicken to resident

Westport police are asking the public for help in identifying a person who keeps leaving a box containing a headless chicken in the yard of an area home.

According to Westport Police Lt. Jullian Cabana, it's happened a couple of times and the residents have no idea why someone would leave a headless chicken in their Franklin Street yard.

So what's the matter with Pecksland?

Another Pecksland Road listing takes a hit, this time 138, dropping its price to $4.995 million, down a cool million from its October opening bid of $5.995. Owners paid $4.675 for it in 2012 and have obviously sunk a ton of money into it since. I think they’ll regret that.

All of which mystifies me, sort of. Pecksland’s a decent road, not too far from town, with large, expensive homes, and this particular house, to me, has huge appeal, but prices have been dropping here for the past decade, as buyers’ tastes turn elsewhere.