There were 31 houses listed between $8.5 and $12 million: now there are 32

74 Upper Cross Road - with so many basically-indistinguishable houses in this price range and only five a year selling, homeowners have plenty of time to figure out how to make theirs stand out.

74 Upper Cross Road, which failed to sell last year, is back at $9.750 million. It sold for $10 million in 2000, and these sellers paid $13.5 for it in 2012. To me, it's a $3.5 million house set on 16 acres which, except for deer hunters like me looking for acreage large enough to permit rifle hunting, has no particular value.

The water's circling the drain up there in the northland.

UPDATE: Of course, there's always room for disagreement between real estate opinionators. I found this tidbit just now, from an article going back to when the present owners bought the place.:

Public records show the buyers are Robert F. and Nancy R. Young. The seller was Springbell Farm Inc., whose president is biotech billionaire Randal J. Kirk, records show.

"This recent residential sale is a sign that there is strong confidence in the luxury real estate market in Greenwich and throughout Fairfield County," said Joseph Valvano, sales manager of Coldwell Banker offices in Greenwich and Old Greenwich.

Tee hee.