The best way to sell Real Estate is on the MLS, either with a full service broker or a Help U Sell type operation.

terriks, it is listed on the mls. I didn't view every pic, but it ilooks beautiful, I can only suggest they accommodate every viewing, staging each room every time they get a call to view, lights perfect, fire in the fireplace, etc., make a list of details to perfect the showings.

They might also get an opinion from another realtor on asking price. It's a gorgeous property, but that price point is *very* high for Southbury (I have family nearby)---remember that you're talking about a town where people can buy a house and lot of a similar size (though certainly nowhere near as nice or historic!) in the $700-$800K range. (At a quick glance, only a handful of homes in town are currently listed for over $1M.) That means you need buyers who recognize that the history of/improvements to the property are really worth $3+ million---probably not your average family browsing Sunday open houses. They may want to try listing with one of the Manhattan firms who specialize in high-end properties and are fluent in that market---and they should probably get another appraisal (or two) to confirm that the asking price is in an appropriate range. Good luck---it's a beautiful home!

They may want to try listing with one of the Manhattan firms who specialize in high-end properties and are fluent in that market-

Sure, list with an out of state broker, they will surely know more about the CT market than the Connecticut brokers.

Wow, one beautiful photo after another. Love the music.

Hey, there is a typo on the first page - remove the comma after the word "maker" in this sentence:

Formerly owned by the renowned Duncan Phyfe furniture maker, for over 20 years, this English Colonial style family estate lies bordering the trout laden Pomperaug River.

But I would rephrase it:
Formerly owned by the renowned furniture maker Duncan Phyfe for over 20 years, this English Colonial . . .

Just to clarify, this area (and many parts of Connecticut!) is close to New York, and it is quite normal for NYC buyers to be the ones shopping for these homes---particularly for high-end properties. (Just check out the Sunday NY Times realty section any given weekend!) So it's not as crazy as it seems. :)

Hi,

I'm a realtor in Greenwich and thought I'd weigh in on the question. As with any profession, there are some agents who probably aren't the greatest, but there are lots of us who work really hard to know our markets and do the best for our clients.

Having said that, my recommendation is for your sister to stick with a local Broker to market the property. A good broker will know when it's appropriate to market outside of Southbury and better yet, where that would be (NYC? Hartford?, etc.).

These days most ready, willing and able buyers are working with agents. Those who aren't are most likely still in the preliminary phase of their search which means they aren't truly prepared to buy. Also, I have quite a few clients who are relocating from NYC but they almost always come to me through referrals. Truth be told, Manhattan brokers are not that focused or knowledgeable about the CT market; they tend to pass along clients to local agents and collect a referral fee once the transaction closes. Likewise, I would be doing my clients a disservice if they were interested in NYC and I did anything less than match them up with a top-notch agent.

Lastly, I agree that price might be an issue. These days buyers are looking for bargains or are very picky about what they buy. The agents in Southbury are going to know the market best so make sure a couple of them weigh in on price. Sometimes it makes sense to show the Sellers a couple of comparative properties on the market so that they understand why their house should be priced competitively.

Hope this helps.

Is that listing correct? 14 rooms in under 3200 sq ft?

My question is how big is the staff that takes care of the place? Beautiful house.

Good suggestion greywings, and how about instead of "lies bordering the trout laden Pomperaug River, just "borders the beautiful Pomperaug River." "Trout laden" just brings to my mind anyway a bunch of fish, which a lot of people don't like or care about--better to have them envision a pretty river. But wow, neat house.

The trout in the river might be very important for a buyer. It could help the new buyers envision living there, walking out back with a $1500 fly rod/eqpt for a relaxing day to catch trout right out the back door.

This dream is what sells many properties, especially to overworked baby boomers that have a big dream to relax one day.

I want to thank all of you for your suggestions. I have sent my sister a link for her to read. The pictures of this property certainly don't do it justice. Just seeing the kitchen in person makes your jaw drop. I have never seen any marble with a blue color in it. It's a fantastic house for entertaining and she has hosted parties for 200 people at a time. Her house was showcased in Christie's Great Estates in Issue Two 2008, before the carriage house was finished and in Litchfield magazine Sept/Oct 2009 issue. This is about the 7th home of this caliber they have remodeled and they are ready to move on since it's completed. I did tell her that a couple of friends that do marketing indicated they thought the price was too high.

Elaine

One idea that might be both helpful for selling and fun for them to do as a retrospective would be to put together a "scrapbook" of the restoration work that was done. I saw this in one house we looked at and it was both nice to see the detail as a prospective buyer and incredible to see the transformation as the house was restored. This could be a good way of showcasing the specific artisans who worked on various sections, putting in clippings from the various magazine articles, putting the plans, permits, and technical information in one place, etc.---and would undoubtedly be very valuable to a buyer looking at the home for its historic status, since that's probably the target market here.

Good luck!

For high end properties like this, each region has a specialized magazine that features premiere homes. I would ask the agent if the house is on it and how to get on the magazine.

I completely agree with charra_ct. A friend of ours bought their multi mil $ house on a single date visit to town as the job offer was being accepted. When reviewing a real estate agent, one of the questions to ask is how many properties in this region the agent has sold. I would go with the one that sold 10 versus 1.

Unfortunately, expensive homes are sitting on the market longer than it has in the past. As the price goes up, the time to contract also increases because there just are not that many people with that kind of income. Where I live, an area that has 2 to 10 acre properties with mansions that sell anywhere from 2 to 20 mil are sitting and waiting for someone. I have never seen so many properties come on the market.... It is a tough time.

That pink has got to go!!! Where are the rest of the pictures??