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Dec
3
A Beautiful Conserved Equestrian Estate On The North Shore
As Seen From the Owner’s Perspective
By LandVest
 

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live here? You are invited to experience what it is like to live at Cabot Farm, the largest protected horse property for sale in Wenham, as seen through the eyes of the owner, Jamie Cabot.

Owner enjoying his 92± acre property

“I consider it one of my great privileges to be able to preserve it as a living natural community, and to pass it on to others to find joy and solace here as I have”.

Hamilton-Wenham was listed as one of the “Best Places to Live” by Boston magazine in 2010. Jamie couldn’t agree more. Click here for our interview with Jamie as he shares its history and tells us why he loves this “rural paradise”.

For more information about Cabot Farm, contact Lanse Robb (lrobb@landvest.com) at LandVest in Boston, MA.

Click here to view more North Shore Real Estate for Sale.

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Jun
21
It’s the Perfect Time for a Tour of Vermont Farms for Sale – Part Three
By LandVest
 

Our next stop on the LandVest Vermont Farm tour is Uphill Farm. Uphill Farm is one of Vermont’s landmark properties because of its remarkable beauty, location, and rich sense of place. From Woodstock Village, the farm is a few miles out heading toward Barnard past the Billings Farm Museum and the Rockefeller Historic site.

The entrance drive to Uphill farm winds up through meadows with grazing cows, past one of the ponds and the kitchen/perennial gardens to the beautiful old farmhouse and red barns set into the hillside, shaded by ancient maple trees.

The best way to get a sense of the property is to walk up a short rise from the farmyard to where the hilltop views really open up to a huge expanse of meadow, with split rail fenced pastures, wildlife pond and winding farm lanes leading the eye to the hills beyond. (Cue the theme from “The Sound of Music”.)

Uphill Farm meadows, summer

The path to the upper meadows, autumn

On the far side of the meadow, the trails drop into the sugarbush, and if it were winter, and we were on skis, we would enjoy a wonderful quick run down the private ski hill. In fall, the hills blaze with the brilliant colors of the sugar maples.

The Uphill greeters
on a stroll

Returning to the farmyard and into the main barn, we are met by the official greeting committee, consisting of dogs, cats and two very friendly goats. The horses look out the stall windows with anticipation of treats. The barn, set into the hillside, is cozy in the winter and cool in the summer, with roomy stalls, automatic waterers, and, remarkably, hammered copper walls that make for very low maintenance. The barn rambles on multiple levels (perfect for exploring) including haylofts, shop, tackroom and office, more stalls, and a very cool old silo.

The house at Uphill Farm looks like a modest Cape style farmhouse, but underneath the understated style is a high level of luxury and totally up to date systems designed to make the place run seamlessly. A trip down to the basement reveals German boilers and enormous hot water tanks; hot water is never going to be an issue after a cold day skiing. The pool and spa, designed to look like an organic hillside feature, is surrounded by a heated stone patio, pleasant on the toes on a winter visit from the house to the spa.

Uphill Farm pool
set into the hillside

Master suite and spiral staircase to sleeping porch

The house is light, comfortable, and tastefully done in Vermont vernacular. It is set up nicely for family gatherings with a huge kitchen and family room, dining room perfect for Thanksgiving, separate guest suite downstairs, family bedrooms upstairs, and a cathedraled master suite (with the best sleeping porch, ever) privately set in a separate wing. Other toys include an outdoor fireplace and grill, gym, and a cherry coffered ceilinged billiard room. We hear all the time that people just want to curl up with a book and never go back to the city.

The best part about Uphill Farm is that it is so perfectly Vermont. It is the Vermont farm, idealized.

Until you can join us at Uphill Farm in person, you can be there virtually..

This blog was brought to you by Jon Weber and Story Jenks of LandVest’s Woodstock, Vermont office, and by Ruth Kennedy Sudduth, Director of LandVest’s Residential Brokerage Division. For more information on wonderful Vermont real estate, equestrian properties, farms and Woodstock, Vermont homes for sale, please contact any one of us. Click here for Vermont Real Estate for sale.

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Jun
12
Lyme, NH Real Estate for Sale: Hermitage Farm on Washburn Hill Road
By LandVest
 

LandvestThis blog entry was authored by Susan K. Murphy of LandVest’s Concord, NH office

246± acres with open fields and panoramic mountain views into Vermont

Behind a dirt road, lean trees sway in the spring breeze. Early season buds contrast the bright blue skies, and the emerald grasses of maintained fields frame this historic site. Old stone walls, some as tall as I, are warmed by the afternoon sun. A walkway of large, flat, stones float amid the country courtyard lawn, and daffodils peek through the garden’s rich soil. The stone walls embrace the gardens and wrap around the home’s porch entry, offering a familiar comfort to its visitors. Above, a rolling lawn conceals a heated pool and an apple tree dripping with pink and white blossoms – perfectly positioned for a chaise beneath its shade on a warm summer afternoon.

Completely private lawns and outdoor spaces within walking distance to Lyme

Trails meander through the land, and open fields are framed by woodlands. The land cascades along the hillside, reaching toward the Vermont Mountains and scenic regional farmland. It is peaceful at Hermitage Farm. Two barns link the property to an era of long ago, yet lend themselves to current uses. One now serves as a potting shed and home to chickens and their abundant, fresh eggs. The front wall is bordered by a white fence, open to the fresh air – I picture a child’s first pony peeking over the white railing in anticipation of an apple from the home’s own tree. The larger barn is proud in its structure, and exposed beams serve as a reminder of the labor of love that created the hand-hewn beams and wide paneled walls.

All in-ground heated swimming pool

246± acres surround the expanded antique brick cape, peacefully positioned away from the bustling energy of Hanover and Dartmouth College. Yet, as Lyme’s church bell chimes from the visible white steeple, it is evident that this private location bears a connection to this New Hampshire community.

To learn more about Hermitage Farm, please click here (http://hermitagefarm.landvest.com/)

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Jun
5
LandVest Photo Gallery – New England Farms
By LandVest
 

Longing to live in the country? Looking for an idyllic peaceful setting with rolling acreage, pastures, paddocks or privacy? Click on the photos to see details of these New England Farms for sale.

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Jun
1
It’s Spring, Time for a Tour of Vermont Farms for Sale – Part Two
By LandVest
 

Exploring Woodstock, Vermont Real Estate

The next stop on our tour of Vermont farms, estates and country properties is Woodstock, Vermont.  Woodstock has the perfect mix of proximity to New York and Boston, civilization (restaurants, locavore markets, nearby Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, music and museums), and rural beauty.   The Rockefellers knew their beautiful places, and their legacy carries on in the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Site , Billings Farm Museum where you can personally thank the cows for the lovely ice cream, and the Woodstock Inn.

Kent Hill Farm overlooks the aptly named Happy Valley

Our first stop is just outside of the village – take a left in the tiny village of Taftsville, and head up the aptly-named Happy Valley Road.  Kent Hill Farm‘s 181± acres are set partway up the hillside at the end of a long private drive with sweeping valley views. The buildings appear to have been there forever, designed in a classic Vermont vernacular, but are, in fact, recently constructed, with a high level of amenities.  The main house is open and airy, with a big country kitchen that opens into the living and dining rooms and ground floor master, all flooded with the special light of this valley.  The horse barn and wonderful barn/shop suit the interests of a range of owners and guests.  The guest house is perfectly scaled for a quiet retreat.  We love the antique granite posts that give the property a sense of permanence and place.

Garvin Hill enjoys lovely views in a quiet setting close to Woodstock Village

Following Happy Valley Road and taking a right toward the village, Garvin Hill is set off  a nearby country road, looking down a long valley across a meadow and forest to the mountains.   Scaled to expand to accommodate visiting family and guests, the house is set on three levels to capture the views.  The main entertaining areas with huge windows are off the front entrance, with family bedrooms on the ground floor and lower level with the master and offices above.   Additional guest quarters are in the separate guest house.  The barn and workshop have plenty of room for puttering and quiet contemplation of the wildflower meadow on a sunny afternoon.

After a lunch at one of the cafes in Woodstock, followed by espresso and a cookie for the road from the Woodstock Farmer’s Market, we’ll head over the hill to West Windsor, passing Green Mountain Horse Association the heart of Vermont Horse Country, and past riders or maybe even a four-in-hand carriage enjoying the quiet back roads.  

Apple Hill evokes the Vermont vernacular with open, clean-lined style

Apple Hill is off one such road, a wonderful recently constructed house with huge mountain views and an open flowing design. So, maybe it’s not a farm, but it draws its fieldstone, post and beam, slate and barnboard style from the local vernacular and the 25± acre property could easily accomodate horses, sheep or a big vegetable garden.   Built as a turnkey country retreat in the equestrian oriented West Windsor area, it’s an easy reach off I-91, Apple Hill is a great way to enjoy Vermont on a very manageable scale.

We will drive back over toward the Village, and talk a bit about some of the wonderful private listings LandVest has listed, from rustic retreats off the grid to major family estates with sweeping views.

Check back in with the LandVest blog for the next stop on our Vermont real estate tour… we’ve saved the best of Woodstock for last!

LandVestThis blog was brought to you by Jon Weber and Story Jenks of LandVest’s Woodstock, Vermont office, and by Ruth Kennedy Sudduth, Director of LandVest’s Residential Brokerage Division. For more information on wonderful Vermont real estate, equestrian properties, farms and Woodstock, Vermont homes for sale, please contact any one of us. Click here for Vermont Real Estate for sale.

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May
31
Watershed Farm, Roxbury, Vermont
By LandVest
 

One of the great pleasures of working at LandVest is the opportunity to share in the realization of the dreams of property owners.

One of these dream properties is Watershed Farm, high on a mountaintop in quiet Roxbury, Vermont.

Watershed Farm is a classic “kingdom property” in LandVest parlance, where you enter the 560± acres via the mile long driveway that winds upward through the woods, and opens first into mowed pastures and then expands outward to hundred mile views.  For many, the essence of a rural retreat is complete privacy, end-of-the-road location and the sense of being master of all you survey.

The dreams of both members of the couple that built this property were met – his yearning for huge views of the Green Mountains, dark skies for his observatory, and a close hop to great skiing at Sugarbush and Mad River Glen and hers for a genteel Victorian style home and professional-grade horse facilities including stables, turnout and indoor arena. This is what a great Vermont farm retreat is all about.

Please contact Wade Weathers or our Vermont Team for more information on great Vermont Farms and country properties for sale .

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May
15
Springfield, VT – Owner’s Perspective on What Makes North Mowing Special
By LandVest
 

What Makes This Place Special – The Property Owner’s Perspective

North Mowing in Springfield Vermont on approximately 230 acres offers complete privacy and historic charm

Each LandVest listing is more than real estate, it is the realization of a vision of property owners, often over centuries. One such property is North Mowing, in Springfield Vermont. Set at the end of a ¾ mile drive on 230 acres the property has superb views of Mount Ascutney. This beautifully renovated c. 1795 expanded main house, guest house, barns and outbuildings are set around a series of terraced gardens. The original farm was romantically expanded by Horace Brown, a prominent Vermonter and landscape painter during the heyday of the Art Colony in Cornish, NH, whose most notable members were Maxfield Parrish and Augustus Saint- Gaudens as well as Ellen Biddle Shipman, the landscape architect of North Mowing.

Dry stone terrace designed by eminent early 20th century landscape architect, Ellen Biddle Shipman

The current owners, international manufacturers and marketers of garden ornaments, restored the property as a labor of love and as a family retreat. They loved the sense of history and romance of the property, and the scale of the big views.  Since Springfield is not as well known as nearby Woodstock and Ludlow, we asked the owner to tell why they like Springfield:

“Location, location, location – it is very convenient to 91 – just that much closer to NYC than Woodstock and further north. It is a very central location to get to a number of places in about 20 minutes or so – near Woodstock, Quechee, Okemo, Ascutney, Grafton and quite near Chester which is very sweet. The Weathersfield Inn has excellent gourmet dining – about 10 minutes away. Even Dartmouth is not that far away – One of the Browns lived at North Mowing and taught there. We always get fresh meat at Lisai’s in Chester which is about 10 minutes away and a pretty drive.

Family Room features dramatic stone fireplace surrounded by raised panel cabinets, oak floors and built-in seating under the stairs

Guest house with one bedroom, kitchen, bath and fireplaced living room is light, bright and completely renovated

As to Springfield itself – chartered in 1761 and home to the oldest one room school house in Vermont. Springfield prospered from the machine tool industry. It was a prime target for German sabotage in WWII. Of course, as manufacturing moved overseas Springfield suffered. But it is reinventing itself. The tool works along the river into town are being developed now into professional offices. There is a good hospital in Springfield close to the house. The movie theater has been restored and reopened – Historic Preservation magazine featured the restoration of its Art Deco facade. Springfield also did not suffer in the recent floods because of a water management system in the river in town. While the shopping center may not inspire raptures about quaint New England, it is only 5 minutes away if you need anything.  It is so much more convenient than a 20 minute drive for milk or the newspaper. Roll into town and you can easily stop there for supplies. It is a nice market as well – seems to me much nicer than the one I remember in Woodstock – good fresh produce etc. There is also a pharmacy there. All in all very convenient.

Convenient and private location with views to Mount Ascutney

North Mowing though is a world unto itself – beautiful views and a ¾ mile driveway. Fantastic stone walls, terraces and outbuildings configured more like a little village. The interiors of the guest house and map house are full of charming details. Moreover each of these buildings and studio have working fireplaces! It is a gardener’s delight. There is a book in the house about the eminent landscape designer, Ellen Shipman. Her client, Horace Brown was one of the heirs to the Spaulding Sporting Goods fortune and a noted artist in his own right.  The property figured often in his work – it is his particular color scheme and configuration that we restored. Note that the property originally went right down to the river but the Browns donated it to the town to build the school.”

Great properties like North Mowing have their particular magic. For more information on Vermont Farms or Woodstock Area Properties for Sale, please contact Jon Weber or Ruth Kennedy Sudduth.  North Mowing was featured as our first stop off I-91 in our Vermont Farm Tour blog (click on link for more) the first of more to come.

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May
14
Brunswick, Maine – One of the Best Small Towns in America
By LandVest
 

Smithsonian Magazine Ranks Brunswick
as One of the “Best Small Towns in America”

Brunswick & Harpswell are neighboring towns in Cumberland County along the Casco Bay in the Gulf of Maine. Scenic and historic they also have a thriving arts and cultural scene inspired by their coastal charm.  Accolades for this area have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Money Magazine, Where to Retire Magazine and MSN’s House & Home. Most recently, based on a search of cultural assets in towns with populations under 25,000, the Smithsonian Magazine recognized Brunswick, Maine as one of the best small towns in America.

LandVest, the recognized leader for Maine real estate, waterfront homes and estates throughout New England, offers three exceptional properties in Harpswell, just 8 miles from Brunswick:

Click here to read Smithsonian’s article about Brunswick.

For more information on Maine Real Estate for sale in the Portland, Maine and surrounding area contact William Davisson at wdavisson@landvest.com or click for William Davisson’s contact information.

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May
12
It’s Spring, Time for a Tour of Vermont Farms for Sale
By LandVest
 

Spring is a lovely time to explore real estate for sale along the quiet roads of Vermont. Driving up from Connecticut or New York, the two closest farms we have for sale in the Upper Valley near Woodstock, Vermont, are “North Mowing” and “Stonebridge Farm“.

North Mowing combines Vermont vernacular with artistic style in its 230± private hilltop acres

North Mowing is located a short hop off I-91 in Springfield, Vermont. This is a soulful property – probably because it has been owned by many generations of artists. It has what you would expect in a great Vermont property – the long private drive, the huge hilltop location with mountain views, the perfectly restored classic farm buildings, guest house and refined interior finishes. What makes it really special is the artistic sensibility of the place, each view comes  from  a sophisticated  painterly  eye. The original farmstead  was a centerpiece of the distinguished Connecticut Valley artist community that included August Saint-Gaudens in the last 19th century.

Horace Brown, a well-regarded landscape artist and pillar of the Vermont State Senate, engaged Ellen Biddle Shipman, the designer of the Saint-Gaudens landscapes, to design a series of dry stone terraced gardens to connect the buildings with the landscape. This artistic community was very tuned into “sense of place” and Shipman integrated a classically-trained aesthetic into the Vermont vernacular farmstead. The current owners, themselves landscape design professionals, have combined the historic and timeless feel of the place.  With the outdoor terraces, open floor plans and plenty of sleeping quarters, North Mowing is warm and inviting for friends and family.

Stonebridge Farm is a peaceful country retreat minutes from Dartmouth College, theatre and restaurants

Just up I-91 in Norwich, Vermont, across the river from Dartmouth College and the lively community of Hanover, New Hampshire, is Stonebridge Farm. This is a more intimately scaled property, with a comfortable feel, but similarly clean-lined and carefully updated. Here the farmhouse and giant bank barn sit in a dell next to a swimming pond, with valley views across to the New Hampshire mountains. It is the perfect bucolic farm setting in a quiet rural neighborhood with shared trails through conserved land, minutes from Hanover, the theatre, restaurants and shops. It can be intimate for a couple or absorb a crowd of kids running rampant between the converted barn that serves as a pool and game house to the stone diving rock into the pond. If horses are part of the mix, the outdoor arena has the best views on the property, and the equestrian amenities, barn and turnouts are beautifully practical.

Check back with the LandVest blog, as we go to our next stops on the tour, farms for sale in Woodstock, Vermont

LandVestThis blog was brought to you by Jon Weber and Story Jenks of LandVest’s Woodstock, Vermont office, and by Ruth Kennedy Sudduth, Director of LandVest’s Residential Brokerage Division. For more information on wonderful Vermont real estate, equestrian properties, farms and Woodstock, Vermont homes for sale, please contact any one of us.

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Mar
30
Woodstock Area Real Estate Follows New England’s Record Year
By LandVest
 

Woodstock Area Real Estate
Follows New England’s Record Year

LandVest led a pivotal year in 2011 for New England and Woodstock, Vermont sales. With the record sale of Indian Head in Northeast Harbor, ME priced at $15,500,000, the record sale of Bessboro Farm in Westport, NY priced at $5,680,000, and Round Pond in Chilmark, Martha’s Vineyard priced at $18,000,000, we are seeing signs of stabilization in the high end of the real estate market throughout the region, and prices are near the range seen in 2001-2002.

Beautifully finished brick Federal Cape with 3 bedrooms, attached garage and one-bedroom apartment

In the Woodstock market, a positive trend is developing and bench market sales between $2 and $4 million have established better footing for buyers and sellers. We are beginning to see expectations come into line with realistic pricing. The 2011 sale of Lull Brook Farm by Ruth Kennedy Sudduth and Story Jenks in Hartland offered at $3,950,000 was a record sale. LandVest continues to lead the market in New England and Vermont for sales over $3 million.

From 2008 to 2009 there was one sale over $2 million, and then in 2010 there were three sales:


These sellers put their properties on the market prior to the 2008 market meltdown at prices that reflected the highs of 05/06, and were slow to make adjustments to the current market conditions. The average discount from original list price to sale price was a whopping 26% and took an average of 3 years to sell. LandVest, along with a few high-end appraisers, felt that in late 2009 that the average discount from 05/06 was about 25% (higher in ski resorts and lower elsewhere).

Then in 2011 there were 4 sales with three above $3m:

Gracious Gentleman's Farm on 90± acres of handsomely landscaped property with two ponds and six-stall barn, indoor and outdoor arenas and split rail paddocks

Classic Vermont horse farm with c1800 chimney Cape and New England bank barn cited on 121 acres of rolling Vermont farmland overlooking the stream fed swimming pond

Craggle Ridge Farm, West Windsor, VT

Average discounts from original list to sale price (for non-distressed properties) decreased to 17%, and took an average of about 1 month to sell. There was an add-on sale in early 2012 to LandVest’s Reeves Road (Lull Brook Farm) sale for additional land, bringing the total sale price over $4 million.

Peak prices of 05/06 are still a ways off, and there is a fundamental paradigm shift in the buyer profile. Second homes buyers continue to dominate the high-end market, but the retiree buyer is being replaced with a younger buyer still in the midst of their career (mostly financial) looking for a country life with amenities similar to their primary residence. The age gap between buyers and sellers has widened, and the great recession has changed buyers’ priorities and expectation of value.

Buyers also continue to be cautious and reluctant to be the high bidder when there is no competition. The only way to make a compelling argument is to have a price that creates competition.  Relative value in the greater regional market (Vermont-New Hampshire-Western MA) is the key, not relative value to what they can buy in Long Island, Greenwich or Dallas.   Success requires clear-eyed realism with superior preparation and presentation.

View from High Meadow, Uphill Farm offers utmost privacy yet is within 3 miles of Woodstock village

There is room for more growth and the $2m to $4m is lacking good inventory particularly in the gentlemen’s farm category with 100 acres or more. LandVest also sees a gap in inventory for the $4m to $8m based on the quality buyers that have come through Uphill Farm in the last year, and historic sales in this price range. Other than the Lull Brook sale, there has not been a sale over $4m since 2009 (see chart below).

For more information on Vermont and Woodstock real estate, please contact Story Jenks. Click here to see Woodstock area Real Estate.

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