STOUGHTON - That 68 Patrick's Run has been on the market, unsold,for more than a year just might mean no one wants it at its askingprice of $1.25 million.
Having to sell a pricey home like this in a down market isn'teasy. It probably isn't helping that in a time of a high energyprices and environmental concerns, the home clocks in at a generous4,800 square feet and is loaded with options.
If there ever was a time for real estate brokers to reevaluatetheir tactics, now would be it. The real estate slide inMassachusetts is approaching the three-year mark. And while someareas of Massachusetts show promise, most industry professionals andeconomists say they do not know when the market will bottom out,except not soon.
But Renee Roberts, the listing broker for the property fromCentury 21 Access Properties, has reason to believe the house is agood deal. It cost more than $900,000 to build, not including thecost of the lot.
"The truth is that this house is well worth a million in anytown," she said.
Big houses with big price tags have their own particularchallenges right now. For one, there are a lot of them on themarket.
Currently there are 213 homes in Massachusetts for sale for $1.5million or more that have sat on the market for more than a year,according to Movoto.com, a California company that tracks realestate markets. Norfolk County, where Stoughton is located, has 40of them.
Altogether there are nearly 1,300 homes listed for sale at $1.5million or more - 300 of them priced above $3 million - and theyspend an average of 212 days on the market before a buyer comesalong.
These listings include a $9 million, six-bedroom palace inWestport near the water, a 15-room wonder in Beverly at $2.8million, a five-bedroom in the Back Bay for $8 million that's beenon the market almost three years, and a slew of $2 million homes inWeston, Newton, and Concord.
One reason for the slow sales, real estate agents say, is thatbuyers in the current market, well aware that property prices couldcontinue to fall, are particularly value-driven. That is, they'relooking for screaming bargains.
"One of the things that I've noticed is that a lot of theassumptions of the past, `because the house is in this community, ofcourse buyers will flock to it,' don't necessarily apply in thisparticular market," said Jody Moore, a realtor with Remax Landmarkin Lexington, which has some of the metro region's highest propertyvalues.
"I find that the buyers today, especially in the upper end,really want value for their money and are willing to look in otherareas you wouldn't normally expect." she said. "You have to makeyour property stand out and get noticed, or it's just going to beanother property languishing on the market."
Moore endured her own crucible with a Lexington home that hadbeen for sale for more than a year, at an original list price ofjust under $1.9 million. The long lack of interest forced her andthe sellers to get creative: They built a fence and installedcurtains and window treatments to add privacy, as the home islocated on a busy corner. They even moved the furniture around.
Something must have worked. The sellers have recently put thehouse under agreement.
Peter P. Casey, a broker at Prudential Wilmot Whitney Real Estatein Weston and former president of the Massachusetts Association ofRealtors, said marketing expensive homes in today's market is amatter of pricing.
"We got accustomed over the last several years to pricing housesa little ahead of the marketing, expecting that the market wouldcatch up and people would pay what they're asked," he said. "Wherethe market is declining, you end up getting a bigger spread in thevalue people perceive, versus the price being asked. And that spreadgets bigger and bigger every day that it's on the market."
Pricing may be a hurdle for the Patrick's Run home in Stoughton.For one, there has never been a million-dollar sale in the town.Indeed, the highest-priced sale recorded in the town is for aneighboring home on Patrick's Run at $780,000 in 2005, according toWarren Group, a real estate information firm.
There is simply little to compare it with, and buyers, especiallyin the Internet age, are facile at compiling data on homes and theirlocal markets.
"It's difficult when there are no comparables in the town," saidMarlene Wise, a broker with Coldwell Banker in Canton who has herown million-dollar property on the market on Cattail Lane in Sharon.
The two-story, 5,000-square-foot, brick house is listed at $1.5million and has been on the market for almost two years. Wise saidthat the home is part of a newer development and hopes it willfinally sell now that more houses in the area have finishedconstruction.
Back in Stoughton, Patrick's Run has lots to boast about. It isfull of architectural detail, designer appliances, Brazilian cherryfloors, and a beautiful master suite with double closets and spa-like bathroom. Moreover, it is situated on four acres in one ofStoughton's best neighborhoods.
It's not that it isn't desirable. Roberts, the broker, said thehome had drawn offers, including one for more than $1 million from aqualified buyer that the seller turned down months ago.
"In a town like Westwood, Sharon, or Canton, that house would beclose to $2 million with the amenities and everything in it," shesaid. "It's a gorgeous house. It's one of the most high-end housesinside that I've seen."
The challenge of selling now has produced some benefits forbrokers and buyers and sellers. Like many agents, Jody Moore, theLexington broker, has begun to create individual websites for eachproperty. Her latest, 136cedar street.com, is the Web home of a five-bedroom at $1.7 million.
Moore said the Web has emerged as a cheap solution to giveproperties some individuality and wide exposure.
"This is Real Estate 101," Moore said. "We are listening to buyerfeedback and understanding the market for a particular property,"she said. "After all, it only takes one buyer."
John Guilfoil can be reached at jguilfoil@globe.com.
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