Realty Guild Blog

(l to r) JB Avery and Tony Cutugno of Houlihan Lawrence with Barbara Cleary.

The Realty Guild met with agents and managers of Houlihan Lawrence yesterday, showing them some of our listings, and talking over lunch at a spectacular New Canaan home that is such an exclusive at the moment I can’t even reveal its address.

This is not an uncommon practice for us, or for real estate agencies in general. Getting together with another real estate firm allows for an exchange ideas and practices, and allows for a closer look at inventory—in this case our listings in New Canaan and Darien being shown to their agents from offices in Pound Ridge, Bedford and Rye, N.Y. But most importantly it enables us to better get to know our colleagues from other areas, whom we refer our valuable clients to and vice-versa. The Realty Guild and Houlihan Lawrence share a number of connections, including our affiliations with Christie’s International Real Estate and Mayfair International Realty in London.

One of the impressive things about the Houlihan Lawrence team is its professionalism.

(l to r) Realty Guild agents Carol Barbour and Joe Scozzafava, with Donna McElwee of Houlihan Lawrence.

While the company’s reputation precedes itself– they are the No. 1 real estate firm in Westchester County—it’s in talking with them face-to-face that you get a real understanding for why.

There was a certain integrity to their appreciation of architecture, a collective skill at taking in a home’s unique qualities and details. One highly successful agent explained to me that he had recently moved his business from one part of the county to another for the simple, admirable reason that he had a greater appreciation for the architecture and style of homes in that part of Westchester, which to me was a clear sign of the value of doing what you truly believe in. The agents from Houlihan Lawrence also shared their vast knowledge of the current market conditions in Westchester, an assessment of the luxury market in Westchester in 2011 you can read by clicking here.

(l to r) Brian Murray of Houlihan Lawrence with the Realty Guild's Carol Barbour.

At the luncheon we were also treated to the talents and insights of Stacey Bewkes, whose style-focused blog Quintessenceblog.com has won her international acclaim. Between her passion for social media and our group’s for architecture and homes, it was a lively conversation.

Overall, it was truly enjoyable to have shared an edifying afternoon and get to know even better our associates in Westchester.

Tweet This Post

While there are many similarities between Fairfield County and Westchester, the costs of purchasing a home can vary greatly between the two communities. By clicking here you can see a quick comparison of purchasing in the two counties, using the model of a $2 million dollar home with a $1.4 million mortgage. The article, by Carl Bulgini of Fenwick Mortgage, demonstrates that purchasing in Westchester often comes at a hefty cost, (in this case an extra $39,800 at closing) not to mention often higher taxes.

Tweet This Post

Alex Prud'homme

The New Canaan Library has a special guest speaker tonight at 7:30 for the 2011 Anita Houston Lecture : Alex Prud’homme, author of The Ripple Effect: The Fate of Fresh Water in the Twenty-First Century. In his book Prud’homme explores the threats to the world’s freshwater supplies. Among the many glowing reviews of his work, ABC News says of Purd’homme: “[He] makes a thoughtful and compelling case that policymakers and average citizens should pay more attention to the precious but undervalued commodity that flows from their taps. Future wars, he suggests, may be fought over water.”

For more info on the lecture, click here.

Prud’homme is a veteran journalist who has also written for The New York Times, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Talk, and Time. His books include My Life in France (with Julia Child), The Cell Game, and Forewarned (with Michael Cherkasky). He lives with his family in Brooklyn.

Tweet This Post

Lichtenstein’s “I Can See the Whole Room! ... and There’s Nobody In It!”

The Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary sale, held on November 8 in New York, set

Andy Warhol's "Silver Liz" sold for $16,322,500.

was highlighted by a record sale for the Roy Lichtenstein’s Pop Art masterpiece “I Can See the Whole Room! … and There’s Nobody In It!” It fetched $43,2202,500, eclipsing the previous record for a Lichtenstein, the $42,642,500 paid last year for a painting titled, “Ohhh… Alright”.

In total, the sale realized $247,597,000.

Tweet This Post

New Canaan isn’t typically thought of as a town where you see real estate sold through auction. Yet tomorrow, Oct. 20th, New Canaan will see two real estate auctions begin, and both will be for multi-million dollar properties. The properties going to auction are 544 Oenoke Ridge Road, which was originally listed for $22 million but is currently on the market for $9,900,000 million, and 360-364 Laurel Road, which started out  priced at $12,500,000 and is currently $10,900,000.

Both estates have been on the market for some time and a slow high-end market in the Westchester and Fairfield County area can be assumed to have played a part in the two seller’s choices to sell via this method. However, when we do see real estate auctions it’s not uncommon for them to be for a luxury property, and there is a reason for this.

Tom Banner of Concierge Auctions, the company that is overseeing both New Canaan auctions, compares the difficulty of selling some luxury properties to selling a Picasso painting. “The history we have seen is that [real estate auctions] work far better in the luxury segment, because there often aren’t any comparables in the luxury market for certain properties,” Banner says. “Take Laurel Road. There are no comps for that property. Good or bad. It’s just a very unique house and little you can compare it to. And an auction is a way of getting people in a room and determining its value.”

While the homes will go up for auction on the same day they will be taking two very different approaches. The format for Laurel Road will be an Absolute Auction. In this format, the house will be sold to the highest bidder on auction day, regardless of price. “To take that to the most absurd end, yes, in an absolute auction the property could sell for one dollar,” says Banner, who also points out that there is a financial incentive given for an opening bid of $6.9 million or above.

The property at 544 Oenoke will be having what is called an “Instant Gavel Auction,” with a minimum undisclosed reserve. There is a minimum bid of $3 million, but the undisclosed reserve (essentially how much more the seller needs over $3 million) must be met or the seller has the option of not selling. This auction will take place on line (“think ebay” says Banner), over the course of five days from Oct. 20-25.

Tweet This Post

Barbara Cleary

Brett Ciarlo (left).

The Annual Christie’s International Real Estate Conference was held in London this past week. Attending gave us the chance to reconnect with our Christie’s international affiliates, as well as attend some fascinating seminars, including one given by Rupert Hoogewerf, whose position as the publisher of China’s Hurun Report has made him an expert on the mindset of the wealthy in China.

We also were reminded of  how interconnected the Christie’s Auction House is with the Christie’s International Real Estate division. As many of the below pictures can attest, the powers that be at the Christie’s art house made sure the evening events at the conference in London were memorable. The first night’s dinner took place at the auction house’s new London headquarters, and we were surrounded by works from an array of greats, including Warhol and Munch. The second night, festivities began at the national museum at Hertford House, where the ambience for our dinner was enhanced by paintings by the likes of Titian and Rembrandt. It reinforced for us the close connection, and the synergy that exists in so many ways, between the two powerful entities, Christie’s Art and Christie’s International Real Estate.

Tweet This Post

The remarkable author Stacy Schiff is the featured speaker at the New Canaan Library’s 4th Annual Literary Luncheon, to be held at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, September 22, at the Woodway Country Club in Darien. Schiff, who won the Pulitzer Prize for Véra (Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for Saint-Exupéry, will talk about her most recent book, Cleopatra: A Life, which was named one of the 10 best books of 2010 by The New York Times. The New Yorker magazine said of Cleopatra: A Life, “Schiff’s beautiful writing hums with [critical detachment] tension. This is her fourth ambitious life. It is an edifice of speculation and conjecture—like every “Cleopatra” ever written. But unlike nearly all of them it is a work of literature.”

Tickets for this event are $85 each; Sphinx Sponsor tickets at $175 include a lisitng in the program; tables of 10 are $1,000 and all include a tax-deductible contribution.  Proceeds go to the New Canaanlibrary. For more information email Susan LaPerla or call 203-594-5007.

Tweet This Post

Christie’s is planning a series of exhibitions and auctions of Elizabeth Taylor’s prized collection of jewelry, art, designer clothing and other memorabilia. Taylor, who won three Academy Awards, died this past March at the age of 79. She was known for her passion for opulent diamonds. She had published a book in 2003 entitled, “Elizabeth Taylor: My Love Affair with Jewelry.” Her jewelry is reportedly worth more than $100 million, while her estate is valued between $500 million and $1 billion.

The traveling exhibition tour will begin in September and include stops in London, Paris, Hong Kong and Los Angeles. From December 3-10, Christie’s will devote its entire Rockefeller Center headquarters to a “museum-quality exhibition” of the late actress’s collection. The auction will take place Dec. 13-16. A portion of the proceeds generated from the exhibition admissions and publications will be donated to The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, which the actress founded in 1991. Click here for more info.

Tweet This Post

For full screen, click on the icon in the lower left corner, next to the magnifying glass. To zoom in, double click the image.

Tweet This Post

An important change for all sellers to know is that, as of tomorrow, July 1st, 2011, there will be an increase to the Connecticut real estate conveyance tax, a tax imposed on the transfer of real property and paid by the seller to the state and local municipality. On residential homes the state conveyance tax has been 0.5% of the purchase price up to $800,000, and 1.0% on the amount in excess of $800,000. As of July 1st the tax will increase to .75% for the first $800,000 and 1.25 for anything in excess of $800,000.
 
Additionally, the local municipal tax, which has been 0.25%, will become the permanent tax rate on July 1st. It had been “temporary” increased from 0.11% in 2003. In lower Fairfield County there are only two towns, Stamford and Norwalk, in which the municipality conveyance tax is slightly higher (.35% and .5% respectively). 

In practical terms, before July 1, 2011 the total conveyance tax on the sale of a $1 million dollar property would be $8,500. After July 1, 2011, that  tax would go up to $11,000.

There are exemptions to the conveyance tax, so please ask your attorney to see if you would qualify. Remember also, if you object to this tax increase, the best course of action is to contact your state legislators.

Tweet This Post