This entry is brought to you by Ruth Kennedy Sudduth (rsudduth@landvest.com), Wade BC Weathers (wweathers@landvest.com), Story Jenks (sjenks@landvest.com) and Jon Weber (jweber@landvest.com) who have been assisting and advising buyers and sellers of fine homes throughout Vermont.  

Signs Of A Winter Thaw In High-End Real Estate…
After freezing up in late 2008, the high-end real estate market gradually began to thaw toward the end of 2009. There was so little activity for most of 2009 that it was hard to know where the market was. As volumes recovered, clearing prices became apparent.  Location and quality were paramount.  Second-tier land in country house markets near New York City saw price decreases near forty percent in 2009. For example, a 200± acre property near Millbrook, New York, was on the market for $18,000/acre at its peak, and ultimately sold for $9,500/acre. Many second home markets in New England, and on Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard saw price decreases up to 50%.  The most solid market in our sphere was the $2 million range primary home suburbs of Boston with good schools- down 10-15%. 

Vermont Sales
The number of Vermont sales over $1 million dropped to 54 in 2009, versus 90 in 2008, and 118 in 2007.   Vacation properties—ski resorts, lakefront and concentrated areas of high-end homes, such as Woodstock and Manchester—were most affected. Sales are going through at big discounts to tax assessment values which have not been revised from “old market” valuations.  LandVest appraisers find that pricing at the high end is down about 25% from peak; for example: 

McNeil Tavern - Sold

• A lovely restored tavern on Lake Champlain that sold for $2.225 million in 2006 resold in June of 2009 at $1.7 million.

• A big, newer house on the Killington side of Woodstock that sold for $7 million in 2007 and resold for $5.4 million in fall of 2009.

Best Buying Opportunities In Years…
This is a fabulous opportunity for buyers of landmark properties with pricing back to levels not seen in years.  “We have some of the best inventory—much of it privately listed—that we’ve had in decades” says Wade Weathers, who directs LandVest’s Vermont operations.  “Buyers have an opportunity to quietly put together remarkable transactions.”  For example,  Lottery Hill Farm in Woodstock, the 121± acre former home of actor Michael J. Fox, is now offered publicly at $3,985,000, down from an original asking price of $5.3 million. There are some spectacular remote rural properties with large acreage that are priced under $1 million. 

Watershed Farm - Roxbury, Vermont (Listing Coming to Market Soon)

REVIEW 

• Sharp drop in high-end sales volumes in 2009.
• Sales accelerating end of 2009/early 2010 at sharply lower clearing prices.

OUTLOOK  

• Buyers, largely economically intact, are looking for value at low risk.
• Sellers are looking for ways to simplify without overexposing their properties in a soft market. Private marketing seems to be a good answer.

Available: Lottery Hill Farm, Woodstock, Vermont, $3,985,000

THEMES 

• Older owners with multiple properties are evaluating usage and paring down; those who do not have to sell quickly are looking at private marketing to avoid over-exposing their properties in a soft market.
• House sizes are getting smaller, particularly in the resort areas.  In Stowe, for example, 20,000 s.f. houses are seeing even greater discounts.
• Buyers want a discount for the risk of stepping up, with the discount rising with the risk of the property.
  The “Kingdom Buyers” are re-emerging, putting together remarkable deals on very big properties.

 

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