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I really think the location is an issue. It sits on the corner of two busy streets and there are no sidewalks on Charles or Prospect. Plus it's close to the edge of town (near Norwell border). Just feels like if you have $1.4M to spend in Hingham, you'd probably want something on a side street with a sidewalk, something closer to shopping/restaurants or something near the water.
You know the house that is basically across the street from this house? 171 Prospect (again, right at the intersection of Prospect and Charles). You'll probably remember it was a smaller house that was bought by a flipper, gutted, expanded, then put back on the market as a brand-new 4,300 SF house listed for $1.25M in the summer of 2016. It sat on the market for 6 months and eventually sold for under $1M. I drive this route every single day and I think 210 Charles is a beautiful home, but the location is just tough.
I am surprised 206 Charles took so long to sell as well. An updated 2,300SF 4bd/2ba house for $779K in Hingham is not a bad deal, but it sat on the market for what, 4 months? I know it's pending now and am interested to see what the final sale price was.
Homes on Mast Hill, Saw Mill, and Maryknoll (all neighborhoods right off of Charles) rarely come on the market, but when they do they sell like hot cakes and they are in the $1M - $1.5M+ range. I have no doubt that if this house weren't directly on Charles and were instead in one of those neighborhoods literally hundreds of feet away, it would sell just fine.
I beg to differ on a most points you mentioned.
From 210 Charles Street I can literally "walk to Hingham Square" on sidewalks the entire way. There is a sidewalk at the corner of Charles and Prospect. I do a 3-mile round trip walk to South School every morning - on the sidewalk. And it's plowed in the winter because of the school.
With $1.2 to spend a decade ago, I moved FROM living 15 years in Hingham Center area/walking distance to the Square and Hingham Harbor, to GET AWAY from the hub of activity. Been there done that. Zero interest in living on a side street, or cul de sac "neighborhood".
171 Prospect Street - The house is located just feet from Prospect Street down a steep, steep hill so that when you sit at the kitchen table you are literally looking UP at the undercarriage of cars whizzing by above you. Most people would never buy a house like that. The upstairs bedrooms are level with the street. And over 1000 SF of the total size is the below grade walkout basement. Considering the lot, steep drop down to the house, and remaining land is wetlands/standing water, and with above grade square footage of 3300 SF, I would say the million dollar price paid was a considerable amount. Listing photo is deceptive and doesn't show the road/drop down to the house. Look out Kitchen window in #6 and you will see that you look UP at the street. https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...56642959_zpid/
I'm seeing 12 recent sales on Zillow for the Mast Hill/Saw Mill/Maryknoll developments. That's a lot of activity and properties frequently come on and off the market due to downsizing, job transfer, and divorce.
If 210 Charles Street was in one of these neighborhoods, I would never have bought it. No interest in a suburban setting WITHOUT SIDEWALKS. However, if someone wanted a neighborhood, as you mentioned, your opportunity to do so is just a few hundred feet away. They all take the same school bus, sports, etc. One could easily join in the activities. But, living on Charles Street, it's optional.
The homes in nearby neighborhoods come and go all the time. This is the first time 210 Charles Street has been available to the general public in over 33 years. I bought it 10 years ago in a private sale from the previous owner who lived there for 22 years. From Prospect Street the house is sited on top of a beautiful hill above a meticulously maintained lush lawn that my neighbor faithfully maintains.
If you look at direct abutters to 210 Charles Street which are NOT IN NEIGHBORHOODS:
West side: 192 Prospect - 4094 SF sold for $1.375,000. in 2009. They had contractors working full time for 6 months before moving in. Vision Government Solutions
East side: 211 Charles Street - 4659 SF sold for $1,380,000 in 2009 and $1,300,000. in 2012. Vision Government Solutions
Last edited by 2houses.oh.no; 01-29-2018 at 06:41 PM..
It will appeal to a limited number of buyers who, as we see from the way spec builders do their work, have simpleton tastes.
Throw in a cookie cutter home, with crown molding, granite, and a wall paper border, and the buyers swarm in.
Your place just doesn't earn points with that crowd,
You might be out of touch.
I work in other people's homes all day everyday. (why I'm so opinionated on the topic)
LOL I live in the middle of that "cookie cutter home" FL HOA demographic. NOBODY on TV or in real life is pitching wallpaper borders.
In the >$179Ks - $289's you actually get new construction or recent construction with: a real "chef's kitchen", great rooms, cathedral ceilings, 8 foot doors, suite-sized bathrooms with large tubs and oversize walk-in Roman showers (no doors required), LARGE master suites, very current tile and surface options and loads of custom finishes, too. Like built-ins. Choice of metal or not metal roofs. Window and patio blinds or plantation shutters. Recessed ceiling lighting. Not to mention 3-4 BR, den/office, and baths. 3 car garages.
Not to mention standard: under roof lanais, paver driveways, walkways, and even streets, Hurricane Impact Windows or shutters, security systems, smart house systems, a screened in pool, fencing and NEW landscaping with sprinkler systems.
AND HOA entry gates, sometimes guarded. We won't even talk about the extensive lakes and amenities.
And for "that crowd" entering the >$300K market, you're getting as good a house as any similar custom build in the county. A wealthy county which has the most retired CEOs in America.
But I've certainly seen custom kitchen backsplashes of any type of finish you can imagine including marble slab. For people who don't like grout behind their stove (me).
The "crowd" wanting the OP property are like Chevy Chase in Funny Farm. Buying a life style. Not savvy home buyers demanding lifestyle + value, like we have in MY county. Where, BTW $1.5 Million would get you a 5000 sq ft "mansion" or super deluxe condo - both on the beach, or Intracoastal with a dock, if you could find anyone willing to sell the property. And BONUS: We prohibit high rises here.
Last edited by runswithscissors; 01-30-2018 at 06:50 AM..
I'm not an agent so I don't have the best words and sorry if this sounds like problems rather than solutions.
I don't like 'apartment' for the 1000 sq foot space. It's very large for an inlaw apartment but it's not an apartment as it doesn't have even a basic kitchenette. I know it has a wet bar but that leaves it well short of an apartment but quite large if it's one person. In other words, it's not 'tidy' in layout and doesn't work presented as an apartment in my view. Really it's hard to say though if you're not seeing the actual house.
Perhaps call it an in-law 'suite' and make the default that it contains the ground floor bedroom and bathroom only. I would show the family room as part of a great space with the kitchen and breakfast room. I know this isn't a continuous space but make it flow / be open as much as possible and hopefully a buyer would see that it could be opened up around the fireplace to great a mostly open space. For me, that's perfect because it's open but not completely so. If the buyer is really keen on having a proper apartment, the agent can present the option of pairing the family room with the bedroom/bathroom to make a true apartment. I think that "inlaw suite" in the ad would get that niche to view it.
I still think that the barn is the biggest problem. I don't know about carriage house vs barn. Carriage house kind of means livable house in my view. It also means space that you need to do something with. Barn to me means just a space that you can put stuff in and use or not use as you wish. It shows as neither. I hate the term 'bonus' in housing but perhaps that gives a good way out. Something like: "A lovely (converted?) antique barn provides a bonus space awaiting your hobbies, art projects, poolside parties, small business, or conversion to a poolside carriage house or cabana."
I LIKE it!
I might work in the SF and whatever plumbing is there if it's worth mentioning.
I might say "poolside carriage house or additional living quarters (somehow)"
Not sure if that's zoned to rent out but in PA, A LOT of people who own these properties rent out the outbuildings.
I actually rented two temporarily. From Pre-Civil war times and when you walked into the place you saw the antique FULL WALL 9 foot fireplace because the building was used as kitchen quarters. I didn't care about any of that but it was the location I wanted. Then, I rented another one which was converted to 3 apartments on 5 acres in the back of the property. The owners lived in the main 1700's house and their daughter and husband lived in one of the 3 units. This was when I put my mother's house up for sale after a long illness when I had to live with her for supervision. I didn't want to be bothered living there during "showings".
LOL then after I signed a lease, the house sold in one day before the agent even listed it. What a waste ha ha. (then I moved to FL!)
Potential buyers could reno that barn first, then live in it if they're planning on renovating the main house. Then rent the "barn" out or provide it as living quarters for someone.
Can any real estate professionals give me some insight as to why this house has not sold? It has been on the market since May in a really hot town south of Boston. The realtor has had tons of open houses, advertising, brochures, traffic, showings. Not a single offer.
Obviously it's not professionally staged. We emptied it out a few months into the process. There is still old stuff in the basement and barn, not a lot, but some. What's your gut feeling? I took it off the market yesterday. Plan to realist in the spring. You can be honest, I really want to sell it and need help! Thanks!
"The realtor has had tons of open houses, advertising, brochures, traffic, showings. Not a single offer."
It seems that drawing traffic is not the issue.
Even though I nudged on the photos, people seem to be seeing the property and passing on it.
There is something else going on that affects the value perceived vs. list prices when people are on the property.
"The realtor has had tons of open houses, advertising, brochures, traffic, showings. Not a single offer."
It seems that drawing traffic is not the issue.
Even though I nudged on the photos, people seem to be seeing the property and passing on it.
There is something else going on that affects the value perceived vs. list prices when people are on the property.
From the feedback that I've heard, people love the house, but everyone wants to renovate it, and when they add $200-300k to the price and look at what else they can buy for the same money they realize maybe they don't need a barn or a mother-in-law suite on the first floor and they pass. The reality of doing all that work along with working and raising kids doesn't make sense for most buyers.
We recently put a new roof on the barn ($9800.), removed a concrete ramp and tore out all the old landscaping in front of it, put in new footings and landscaping, (a $10k project), replaced the trim and sills around the windows in the main house with Azek, replaced a picture window in the kitchen with French doors, etc. another $10k, replaced the pergola, so well over $30K and there was hardly any noticeable difference. A drop in the bucket.
"Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House" Syndrome. Nice in the end, but oh, the process (and cost)!
I think the buyer who will commit to taking on this property has to have a reason to do so, as we did, with a home-based business, or they really want privacy and a peaceful setting and have a love of antique homes as well as a vision of what it could become.
A builder could take it on as an investment. You could easily put a garage between the house and barn and connect the two structures making it possible to enter either one from inside the garage. Would it help to hire an architect to draw that out and get an estimated cost from a few contractors? I don't know, I'm just grasping at straws here...
At the back end of the garage is a kitchen area consisting of a built in sink on a work/storage table and an old fridge. The walls on that end of the garage are finished with pickled barnboards. I would not call it a "cabana" or a pool house.
If there's no oven or cook top in there then I wouldn't refer to it as a kitchen. Maybe a wetbar or snackbar. I'm not really sure as I haven't seen it.
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Originally Posted by just_because
I still think that the barn is the biggest problem.
While that aspect of the home is certainly not being marketed to it's fullest, I wholeheartedly disagree that it's the largest issue. In the end, the barn is an accessory building. The main house has plenty of turn offs for the average buyer from the floorplan to the low ceilings to the areas needing updating. If the main house were perfect, I think most buyers would be willing to accept an out building that wasn't so great.
The bottom line with this house is that it doesn't appeal to the average buyer and it's not being marketed well. Maximize it's appeal through staging and effective marketing. Also, before you put it back on the market run comps again to confirm your list price. Make sure you consider EVERYTHING when you compare your house to other sales. Don't just look at beds, baths, square footage, etc. You need to consider the age of the house and the utility of the floorplan as well. You also need to think about things your house doesn't have that your competition will. Chances are if your house was built in 1825 that you have a fieldstone foundation under at least part of the house with low ceilings. So, your house loses value if there is not a basement that can be finished for example.
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Originally Posted by NewfieMama
I really think the location is an issue.
I agree. I think being in a neighborhood vs. being on a somewhat traveled street makes a huge difference.
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Originally Posted by 2houses.oh.no
From 210 Charles Street I can literally "walk to Hingham Square" on sidewalks the entire way. There is a sidewalk at the corner of Charles and Prospect. I do a 3-mile round trip walk to South School every morning - on the sidewalk. And it's plowed in the winter because of the school.
I deal with a lot of people who say they want to be "walkable" to train stops, school, center of town, etc., etc., etc. Most of them seem to consider being 1/2 to 3/4 mile max is "walkable." None of the people I've dealt with would consider 1 1/2 miles walkable.
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Originally Posted by 2houses.oh.no
With $1.2 to spend a decade ago, I moved FROM living 15 years in Hingham Center area/walking distance to the Square and Hingham Harbor, to GET AWAY from the hub of activity. Been there done that. Zero interest in living on a side street, or cul de sac "neighborhood".
You have to remember you're not the one buying this house. You're the one selling it. Chances are whoever buys it will do so because they love it for the same reasons you did. However, the reasons you're stating about why you like the house run contrary to the tastes of the average buyer. Go over to the Massachusetts forum here on C-D and read some of the threads where people are asking for advice on where to live. You'll see what I'm talking about. Everyone wants to live in a neighborhood in a 4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath colonial, with a 2 car garage.
You clearly do not fit the mold of the "average buyer" and there's nothing wrong with that. You just have to understand that the more people there are out there willing to buy your house the faster it will sell for and the more money it will be worth. When I'm saying "average buyer" I'm talking about the meat of the bell curve where the majority of buyers an be found.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2houses.oh.no
If 210 Charles Street was in one of these neighborhoods, I would never have bought it. No interest in a suburban setting WITHOUT SIDEWALKS. However, if someone wanted a neighborhood, as you mentioned, your opportunity to do so is just a few hundred feet away. They all take the same school bus, sports, etc. One could easily join in the activities. But, living on Charles Street, it's optional.
Again, you need to put aside what you look for in a house and ask your agent what the majority of buyers in Hingham want. The goal is to sell it to one of them so it has to appeal to them. Also, being near a neighborhood is not the same as being in a neighborhood.
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Originally Posted by 2houses.oh.no
If you look at direct abutters to 210 Charles Street which are NOT IN NEIGHBORHOODS:
West side: 192 Prospect - 4094 SF sold for $1.375,000. in 2009. They had contractors working full time for 6 months before moving in. Vision Government Solutions
East side: 211 Charles Street - 4659 SF sold for $1,380,000 in 2009 and $1,300,000. in 2012. Vision Government Solutions
That sale on Prospect occured almost 10 years ago and the lot it sits on is nearly twice the size of yours. Dirt is so valuable in Massachusetts and that's going to make a huge difference in the value.
The sale across the street at 211 is also years old and the house has far more appeal to the average buyer than yours.
Bottom line is that these sales have nothing to do with your current sale. They're too old and the homes are too dissimilar to yours.
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Originally Posted by 2houses.oh.no
From the feedback that I've heard, people love the house, but everyone wants to renovate it, and when they add $200-300k to the price and look at what else they can buy for the same money they realize maybe they don't need a barn or a mother-in-law suite on the first floor and they pass. The reality of doing all that work along with working and raising kids doesn't make sense for most buyers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2houses.oh.no
A builder could take it on as an investment. You could easily put a garage between the house and barn and connect the two structures making it possible to enter either one from inside the garage. Would it help to hire an architect to draw that out and get an estimated cost from a few contractors? I don't know, I'm just grasping at straws here...
If you can't find a buyer who's willing to put the money into the house at the current price then the odds of you finding a developer who will do so are even lower. Keep in mind, the developer needs room for profit. The end user who is renovating the property for their own use does not concern themselves with profit and will pay more for the property.
I really feel for you. You've got a unique home which is always a tough sale and it sounds like you've already purchased your new home. You've gotten some good advice here though. Tighten up your marketing, double check your price, and make the house as appealing as possible when people see it in person. Personally, I wouldn't wait for the spring to relist. There's a serious lack of inventory right now. Buyers who didn't find anything last Spring/Summer are still out there and some of them are feeling pretty desperate and will be wiling to make some compromises which will help you out.
From the feedback that I've heard, people love the house, but everyone wants to renovate it, and when they add $200-300k to the price and look at what else they can buy for the same money they realize maybe they don't need a barn or a mother-in-law suite on the first floor and they pass. The reality of doing all that work along with working and raising kids doesn't make sense for most buyers..
You may have your answer there. Knock 250k off the price and sell it to someone who wants to do the renovations. This might be necessary if you need to sell sooner rather than later.
P.S. Is your agent Coldwell Banker? "Log in to view"? That is an immediate "move on". If people don't want me to look, what is wrong????? Or are they simply being a PIA>
I totally agree. I know the realtors that require that think only serious buyers will bother, but what they don't know is a potential buyer doesn't know what you are offering so unless they want hundreds of junk emails from realtors on top of the ones they get from other businesses, they aren't going to do it. On the bright side, the listing can likewise be posted on Zillow and sites that don't require making an account just to see the property.
I would note regarding appealing to the antique market, it seems a lot of not so great choices have been made in that regard, like painting that beautiful routed wood paneling in the entryway. Yes, gray looks nice with black and white tiles, but - someone ruined an antique doing that.
Updating kitchens and bathrooms is fine, preferably while maintaining some of their original character. Refinish woodwork rather than paint it, clean and regroute unique period floor tiles and things that will still work with modern upgrades. Ripping out a nonstructural wall to help improve flow is fine. Painting woodwork, and even brick on fireplaces is a terrible idea when it comes to maintaining an antiques value.
I'm not saying there is anything that can be done about those things, at least not economically, but, it will turn off people buying for "antique" value. It can appeal for someone looking to restore an antique home. There are also sites like Circa and Old Houses that feature properties aimed at the antique home market.
Are there any ordinances about animals in the area? Can a new buyer convert that barn into a space to keep a horse or two? Is a chicken coop doable? If so, those are things you could add to the listing to increase its appeal to unique buyers.
I think you need to accept the fact that your home requires a unique buyer, but as others have said, it will eventually get one. If you cant afford to keep it with the 2 mortgages, at least try to break even when adjusting its price.
Last edited by ComeCloser; 01-31-2018 at 06:12 AM..
From the feedback that I've heard, people love the house, but everyone wants to renovate it, and when they add $200-300k to the price and look at what else they can buy for the same money they realize maybe they don't need a barn or a mother-in-law suite on the first floor and they pass. The reality of doing all that work along with working and raising kids doesn't make sense for most buyers.
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Originally Posted by MikePRU
While that aspect of the home is certainly not being marketed to it's fullest, I wholeheartedly disagree that it's the largest issue. In the end, the barn is an accessory building. The main house has plenty of turn offs for the average buyer from the floorplan to the low ceilings to the areas needing updating. If the main house were perfect, I think most buyers would be willing to accept an out building that wasn't so great.
I think the barn punctuates buyers' perceived problems with the whole property. In a way can become a metaphor for the entire property in the buyers' minds. It doesn't have a clear purpose. It's semi-converted. It's got a kitchen but the kitchen is in the garage. It's got a garage but the garage is best used in the summer as a sort of cabana space with the kitchen. There's an oriental carpet in the garage which makes it look like a living room (it looks nice by the way, just a good metaphor for all the confusion here). It's 2000 sq feet but (presumably) only just over half is finished to any degree. It's got walls but no ceiling in the main room (could make this work stylishly but it doesn't today). It's quaint and charming but has big fluorescent lights like in a 1970s office or car dealer. It feels like a commercial space but it's in the middle of a residential home marketed on its charm value. It has no heat but heat can be easily re-installed if the buyer happens to want heat.
While I agree that an outbuilding can often easily be just ignored in a buyer's mind and used for storage, this building is a full 2000 sq feet and sitting smack between the house and the pool. So it's squarely the center of mass for this property. The first thing you see when you drive up the driveway is the nice, inviting looking door to the barn, the house entrance is more tucked away. I agree that most outbuildings don't really swing things very strongly in one direction or another. They are there if you want them but equally can just be ignored. This one is different. Everyone has things they love and hate about any house. This barn is a big 2000 sq foot reminder of the things that the buyer will dislike about the whole property.
If people don't want pools because they are a lot of work, hardly used in Mass, and costly to maintain, even fewer will want to pay to maintain and insure a pool that is isolated from the home by a large (essentially) unusable commercial space. Even if your kids are strong swimmers, nobody will want kids swimming completely unseen and unheard from the house. Nobody will want to walk all the way into the driveway and around the big barn to have a simple drink or snack by the pool in the evening. It looks like about an 75-100 foot walk from the kitchen to the pool area plus through a gate that should probably be kept locked. Some may say this is no big deal but it's a huge psychological distance. The pool might as well be in someone else's yard. A pool isn't just for swimming, it's usually considered a focal point for a home's outdoor space. This one is very much lost from that use and the barn has a lot of the 'blame' for that.
I agree that if the house were perfect, the barn would be less of an issue. But taken together, the OP already says that buyers often don't want an inlaw apartment OR a large outbuilding. In fact most probably don't need/want either. So with a house that already looks like a big project and already has spaces they will struggle to make good use of, they then see the barn and it pushes it right over the edge and they want to run. The OP can also do some minor things in the main house (staging, working on how it's shown and explained, working on the marketing messaging for the listing) to bridge some gaps there, but trying to address this with the barn is very difficult for the OP and probably too costly.
The target market for 171 Prospect (say early 30s, with young kids or kids on the way - come from a condo where they didn't have to lift a finger) would be scared to death of this house. Even if they think they could renovate the house over time - while raising their kids, training for the marathon, working as lawyers and financial analysts, having to go into the city at least some days, saturday golf, yoga two nights a week, studying hard for further career qualifications, etc. And 171 is under the magical $1m price point. They have law and grad school loans, new cars to pay off, daycare, big bills. These kinds of people like tidy lives as they are scheduled to the minute and can easily collapse when things go wrong. They start and finish things. They want everything to be in place (physically and mentally). They've already got far too many projects. Then they see the barn and the whole thing looks completely like something they can't control and will send their already teetering lives and finances into a tailspin. If they buy 171 Prospect, they make two trips to Crate and Barrel and they cross the project off of the family white board to-do list. Back to life.
210 Charles has a far different market. Older than the typical market for 171 Prospect (40s-50s). Already have a family home so more experienced in property. Maybe teens/early teens. You know the kind of people who are tinkerers? Their whole lives seem 'interesting' to average people. Untidy...nothing fits. PHD in chemistry but wrote three books on philosophy and a manual on making pear wine. Their whole lives seem like a ramble of unfinished projects. You go to their houses and the kitchen table is covered with books on every subject known to man, a laptop with some project in the works that would take them days to explain to you, and papers with red wine rings. They do things that make little sense to more practically minded people. They don't really worry about stuff. That's who I see in this house. Not ridiculing anyone, just trying to paint a picture here.
Alternative would be an exec type who wants to do a complete renovation. Frankly, i think that this is much less likely because of some of the issues that can't be solved like the pool location, small bedrooms, low ceilings, and need for some serious layout work to push it toward a modern 'executive' type home. I think many exec type egos want something with more grandeur and 'bigger bones' rather than country charm. The financial case will also struggle as they'll be in for closer to $2m than $1m when it's done and I don't think it'll be worth that in the end.
Just my opinion. Sorry it sounds negative as you do really have a great property. The positive action point for my post is to work with your agent to get the messaging and 'packaging' of the barn corrected so some of the negative feelings and fear is toned down. I'm not an agent so my buyer 'personas' may be all wrong but your agent needs to understand who will buy this home and I would shy away from anyone who doesn't understand the likely buyer for this home. I don't think you should spend a lot of money to do work to sell it but there may be small things to help bridge some of these gaps.
My the way, despite some minor differences in how much the barn is to blame, I think MikePru would be an ideal agent for this house as he makes some great points and has a good understanding.
From 210 Charles Street I can literally "walk to Hingham Square" on sidewalks the entire way. There is a sidewalk at the corner of Charles and Prospect. I do a 3-mile round trip walk to South School every morning - on the sidewalk. And it's plowed in the winter because of the school.
I know you're saying that you can just get on the sidewalk across the street on Prospect, but the walkability factor still isn't there. It's 4 miles to Hingham Square. Even South is 1.5 miles away and parents aren't walking their elementary-aged kids to school that far.
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With $1.2 to spend a decade ago, I moved FROM living 15 years in Hingham Center area/walking distance to the Square and Hingham Harbor, to GET AWAY from the hub of activity. Been there done that. Zero interest in living on a side street, or cul de sac "neighborhood".
210 Charles isn't in a neighborhood, but it's on a busy intersection with very close neighbors. Buyers aren't weighing neighborhood vs. bucolic setting.
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If 210 Charles Street was in one of these neighborhoods, I would never have bought it. No interest in a suburban setting WITHOUT SIDEWALKS. However, if someone wanted a neighborhood, as you mentioned, your opportunity to do so is just a few hundred feet away. They all take the same school bus, sports, etc. One could easily join in the activities. But, living on Charles Street, it's optional.
But it's not really optional. I live close to 210 Charles on a busy street between a couple of neighborhoods. Like you, I wanted an antique house, which is nearly impossible to find in a traditional neighborhood. I wanted more privacy than a neighborhood could provide. My kids take the same bus as the kids in the neighborhoods right next to us, but it's not the same. If the neighborhood kids are having a play date, they just or bike to each other's house. I have to schedule a playdate and drive them there because you can't just send them down a busy street on their own.
Also, though my house is the same size as the neighborhood homes, there is no way it would ever demand the same $. In fact, I'd say that living in an antique home on a busy street reduces the sales price by at least 15% compared to a newer home in a neighborhood/side street. Just because it's what YOU (and I) wanted, doesn't mean anything. Most people don't want to tackle home updates and street traffic.
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171 Prospect Street - The house is located just feet from Prospect Street down a steep, steep hill so that when you sit at the kitchen table you are literally looking UP at the undercarriage of cars whizzing by above you.
It's not THAT bad. You basically look into the kitchen window from the intersection, which isn't ideal, but I wouldn't say it's a steep, steep hill. Or that the bedrooms are at street level. I paid extra close attention when driving by it yesterday. Plus, it's brand new, so that is a major plus for potential buyers. Even then it sat on the market for long time and went for 20% below the original listing price. 210 Charles isn't right on the intersection the way that 171 is, but it's close enough to be a factor, I think.
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