Posted on 02/16/2009 5:09:42 AM PST by dennisw
Almost 50 mansions built on spec for the hedge-fund set - and priced from $5 million to upwards of $25 million - sit empty in Greenwich, Conn., where the real-estate market has tanked.
"They're going nowhere. Nothing's selling," said Christopher Fountain, who writes a blog called "For What It's Worth" about the Greenwich real-estate scene.
Those who still have cash can find spectacular, never-occupied estates in move-in condition, complete with wine cellars for their Bordeaux and Sub-Zero refrigerators for their caviar, including:
* A 22,185-square-foot Georgian mansion on 4.8 acres off prestigious Round Hill Road with eight bedrooms, elevator, butler's pantry, home theater and fancy flourishes such as crown moldings in the closets. The sale price is $25 million, and it has been on the market since May.
* A seven-bedroom Georgian mansion with 13,000 square feet that includes a solarium, wine cellar and elevator. It is still under construction, giving buyers time to add custom details. It just went on the market for $12.7 million.
* A stone-and-shingle mansion that replaced the one where real-estate developer Andrew Kissel was found murdered in 2006. It has been on the market since September 2007, despite a price cut from $10.7 million to $8.4 million.
The spec homes are scattered throughout town from the woodsy "back country" in the north to the Long Island Sound waterfront.
Julianne Ward, a broker with Prudential Connecticut Realty who sells spec homes, said CEOs, CFOs and other moneyed buyers used to snatch up these manses in just months. "Most houses used to sell before they finished building them," she said.
Now they may linger for a year or longer, Ward said.
There were 161 houses from $5 million to $95 million for sale in Greenwich as of Friday, according to Realtor.com.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Well, some of those eeeeevil rich people get in their environment-killing SUVs and commute about 30 minutes from Greenwich to Stratford where they run Sikorsky Helicopters. Or where they run manufacturing facilities in Bridgeport, Shelton or Trumbull.
Or General Electric. Or Xerox. Or Pitney-Bowes. Or maybe they run supporting machine shops.
Or maybe they just busted their butts and took personal risks in some other area and have earned the right to live in an area where busybodies don’t question how the rewards of their efforts are to be reaped.
Where did I say they didn't have the right? Sheesh! They can do whatever they want with their money. I just don't feel sorry for their losses. It matters not to me.
Why do you think I was thinking otherwise?
Ok - I’m going to stop debating with you until you learn what the word means.
I had to do the same thing with somebody who called me a “populist” the other day and couldn’t define the term. /ahem
“Been keeping up with the Mainstream Medias class warfare agenda, i see.”
Actually, no. Only the now trillions of taxpayer dollars devoted to help these crooks.
Open them up as HUD Housing and fill them with the current President’s family.
I personally believe that no more houses should be built until ALL currently empty dwellings are occupied and we run out of places to house people.
Same with “big box” stores . . . I’m sick to death of the urban-flight-blight with empty Mall-Warts because the big box had to move two or three miles further from the inner city and build a bigger box.
All stockholders are speculators. You want to write off all of us stockholders? Also, you want tow rite off everyone not in manufacturing?
They (speculators and other wall st types) provide a service, just as your dentist does.
GM speculates on LOTS! They speculate people will buy their product, for starters. Their financial wing, GMAC, the only real profitable part of GM, MUST speculate to survive.
If they are thiefs, as you classify them, what laws have they broken, and why aren’t they facing charges on that, your wild, spurious accusations notwithstanding?
Define how they are crooks.
How so?
I have numerous times, and each time you defend them, no matter how egregious their behavior.
Travis T. OJustice, defender of Wall Street crooks! You should be proud.
Good day to you.
“They (speculators and other wall st types) provide a service, just as your dentist does.”
There were no speculators in the 1940’s, and yet we managed to get along without them!
Another false line.
It's about the banks being at the front of the line at the spigot of fiat money ( ie: Federal Reserve Notes ) that the Fed creates out of thin air AS A DEBT OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ( ie: the taxpayers ) The "money" the banks lend out carries with it a duel interest rate that is crushing this country...First the interest rate the Fed charges the government for the bonds the Fed takes from the US treasury to create the money in the first place, AND the interest the banks charge for this "money" to lend to the real economy. Andy Jackson was right...the bankers are a parasitical class that has usurped the creation of money from the Congress ( Article One, section 8 of the US Constitution ) with the formation of the Federal Reserve in 1913.
Until we destroy the Fed and the system whereby every dollar created carries with it a debt to the bankers this country will get poorer and poorer....like my tag line says Banker Capitalism( ie: Debt as money controlled by the private bankers through the FED) is NOT free enterprise
In a Free Enterprise system people get rich by excellent production and innovation....today the bankers and Wall Street stock jobbers get rich by manipulating the the DEBT is MONEY System......and that is precisely what our Founders feared...and Andy Jackson fought against by destroying the 2nb bank US....we now live under the 3rd bank US....and it's time we conservatives went after IT !
The Invisible hand doesn't cheer failure. It won't cry them a river either. Markets come and they go. Only a knucklehead counts on infinite growth, and the more money that's invested, the more care should be taken in prognosticating your market. You snooze, you lose.
Post 34: "these homes were built to satisfy the opulent urges of the moneychangers"
You never said that they didn't 'have the right'. However, "satisfy the opulent urges" indicates that you feel the way that these people have chosen to reward themselves is excessive.
This article has effectively encouraged class envy by labeling these people as the 'hedge-fund set'. But we really don't know who the people are that lost the ability to buy these homes, do we? I know you are a good conservative; I encourage you not to be tempted to join in on the media feeding frenzy.
Normally, yes, but that certainly isn't what's been happening lately. The speculations has been "I take a chance and if I win, I keep it, and if I lose I get the government to take money from you to bail me out of my mistakes"
Sorry, this isn't class warfare, this is fury at being robbed by rich idiots who have politicians in their pockets.
There weren't? Hmmm.
Good try, but you aren't using any factsin your discussion, just feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelings. Try a little substance. know what I mean?
I do not support the bailout, but I also can’t see calling these people crooks, theives, etc. when that’s an untrue statement. What laws were broken, and why aren’t they being prosecuted if they have? I know! Do you?
The bailout idea sucks. Like all business people, they should have to live & die by their own efforts.
Sorry, this isn't class warfare, this is fury at being robbed by rich idiots who have politicians in their pockets.
Funny, that's about as hypocritical as you can get.
Try to tell me one thing that you classify as egregious that is not within existing law. Give it a shot. Prove me wrong. You have yet to do so in any way.
It is bad everywhere...I am in Miami, and prices have tanked here more than anywhere else. I’m a residential contractor...things are terrible...banks are pulling funding from projects already underway, not making new loans. It’s very difficult.
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