A reader writes,
"You seem to know a thing or two about the whole business of real estate. How remarkable is this?....
"Palmer Hill Marks 50 Sale...this community of Stamford homes has sold one quarter of its offerings with over 50 sales since September 2007, and 10 sales in August alone."
I dunno. I've been waiting for this project to move closer to finish - right now, it's mostly piles of dirt, and original completion date was supposed to be 2002 - before making up my mind. But I saw that same press release last month and it's pretty encouraging; with the warning, of course, that there's often a large gap between press releases and fact. That's shocking, I know, but I refer you to some of the Antares PR of last year. I mean, does this sound like the words of an actual buyer or something dreamed up by a flack?
Tom Ferris is one of the first to purchase and move into a Palmer Hill home: “I looked all over Fairfield County, and couldn’t find anything like Palmer Hill,” Ferris said. “There are very few new town homes in the area so convenient and welcoming.”
He noted the thoughtfulness in the planning of his Avon model; the two car garage, the patio and attention to detail and design, all caught his attention. “The New England and Nantucket inspired style is lovely; it embraces the location of the homes.”
Ferris even chose to include an elevator as an added option in his town home.The location of the Connecticut homes is another benefit for buyers. “I’m right between 95 and the Merritt, so everything is very accessible. My family in New York City and New Jersey can visit too,” Ferris said.
Still Edgehill, right next door, has done well so there's clearly a market for this neighborhood, right on the Stamford line. I'm sure there's a large number of older buyers who'd like to downsize yet don't need, or want the care services provided by Edgehill (and those services don't come cheap). I liked the layout of these units when I first saw hem on paper two years ago and it looks like it will be a nice community when finished. So, if there's an advantage to buying in this pre-construction stage (I don't know either way) then it probably makes sense to at least look into the place. If their funding is secure and they can finish the job, it should all work out well.
Update: I've been Googling these guys and haven't found much, but according to this previous press release, they'd sold 33 units by January of this year, so if they've sold 50 now, that, by my math, means 17 sales in the past 10 months. I might expect sales to increase as the buildings draw nearer to completion but I'm no developer; nor am I a public relations writer.
Update IIThe original completion date of 2002 was derailed by years of litigation brought by opponents of the project - I should have remembered that because Greenwich was one of the most vocal of those opponents. For the builder, Sun Homes, this will be the largest project they've tackled - apparently the partner, Buckingham Partners, is a New Jersey-based investment company. I don't have access to financial data that would be useful here but if you do, go delve in and report back!
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4 comments:
Did they really have to screw up the traffic on Havemeyer Lane even more by putting in that circle? Seems kind of dangerous to me.
Very interesting Chris - thank you for passing along Tom Ferris's comments too - yes - that traffic circle is something else - well - at least the whole area looks better now than before.
I bought pre-construction and pulled out when told that the condos and townhouses that are completed would be delayed over 10-12 months for what they are calling re-design. They are pushing dirt away slowly construction to a crawl to prevent over supply. They had 40+ people committed in early 2008 and that number dropped to 20ish or so once they annouced the delay. They builders hold a 20 year option to finish phase 1, 2 and 3. they can stop construction at anytime. Alot of early investors pulled out after they started offering options as incentives.
I have been to the sales site several times and always get different answers from the various sales agents. They used to provide an updated price sheet with the units sold or in contract. Now they keep this all secret which leads me to believe they are inflating the sales numbers and willing to negotiate. I wouldn't be surprised if they are making deals considering the poor housing market and the large inventory of new "luxury" condos on the market in Stamford. My initial reation to the Palmer Hill development is they need to provide a better buffer between the units and Connecticut Avenue. For close to $1 million this should have been a given, but from what I've seen there is minimal screening and security will likely become a major issue. Not sure if they plan on having 24 hour security but they'll need it if they don't build a solid wall between Palmer Hill and the neighboring apartment complex.
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