Speaking of old houses ...

29 pECKSLAND ROAD, CIRCA (SIC) 1730

After eight years on the market, 29 Pecksland Road, built in 1730, which started off in 2010 at $5.275 million, has sold for $3.250. The owner paid $2.3 for it ($3.4 million in current dollars), when it had four acres. She split off two of those acres for a separate lot and, depending on the value of that lot, she might have made out here.

But I doubt it. The house was totally renovated, and expanded from 4,000 to 7,000 square feet, and that kind of work is expensive. If I had to guess, she lost her shirt.

And on a related topic, the GAR will probably count this property's days on market as 284, instead of 2,920, and its ask to sale ratio figured from its last asking price, $3.495, instead of $5.275. So we Greenwich realtors can all rejoice at the news that yet another house's (relatively) quick sale can be added to our rosy DOM average, and an ask-to-sold ratio of 93% used to bolster the claim that, as they announced just yesterday, "the luxury market has returned!". I figure that same ratio as 62%, but my math calculations are exactly why so many of my colleagues find me annoying.

It's a lovely house, and certainly one I'd be happy to own and live in, but the changes made to it since 1730, and especially the expansion of 2004, destroyed its historical value. There's nothing wrong with that: central heat, indoor plumbing and more living space are all features that most buyers today want and appreciate, but the old grey mare ain't what she used to be.

Still and all, I envy the new owners.