MANCHESTER - The new owners of Seahome will occupy two homes on their own private peninsula and skip the 10-year town waiting list for a mooring because the oceanfront estate comes with a fully licensed deep-water dock - all for the record price of $11 million.
The price may sound high, but it's a bargain compared to what the property was listed for in 2004: $17.75 million. Other luxury homes in this exclusive seaside town are also being offered at reduced, if multi-million-dollar prices as even normally immune high-end homes sales are affected by the tight real estate market.
Seahome, at 16 and 18B Boardman Ave., was sold earlier this month to Mark and Becky Levin by Wendy Bolland and Wendy Slater. The two homes on the property - the main residence and the smaller "Tea House" - sit on about 41/2 acres and have a combined total of 32 rooms and 14,533 square feet of living space.
Mark Levin, 56, is the former chief executive officer and a founder of Cambridge-based Millennium Pharmaceuticals, which develops and markets anti-cancer and other drugs. Becky Levin is the founder, chairwoman and chief executive officer of Boston-based Levin and Co., an executive search firm that specializes in recruiting for life science and venture capital companies.
Melissa Lindberg, director of marketing at the MLS Property Information Network, which tracks home sales, said the sale price of Seahome is the highest single-family price ever recorded for the North Shore by the Multiple Listing Service.
The Levins are no strangers to the luxury market. After relocating from California and purchasing a Boston condominium in 1992, they bought a historic 33-room mansion in Middleton, R.I., near Newport, in 2000.
Becky Levin declined to discuss the purchase of Seahome or the couple's plans for the estate after initially agreeing to a telephone interview.
"She's very happy with her decision to move to Manchester but would prefer to keep the details of her personal sale private," said Barbara Vaughn, a representative for Becky Levin.
The couple is known for furnishing their homes with extravagant amenities.
A llama, two peacocks and nine African sika deer were acquired for the grounds of the Levins' Rhode Island mansion, a 2001 Business Week story on Mark Levin noted.
The price may sound high, but it's a bargain compared to what the property was listed for in 2004: $17.75 million. Other luxury homes in this exclusive seaside town are also being offered at reduced, if multi-million-dollar prices as even normally immune high-end homes sales are affected by the tight real estate market.
Seahome, at 16 and 18B Boardman Ave., was sold earlier this month to Mark and Becky Levin by Wendy Bolland and Wendy Slater. The two homes on the property - the main residence and the smaller "Tea House" - sit on about 41/2 acres and have a combined total of 32 rooms and 14,533 square feet of living space.
Mark Levin, 56, is the former chief executive officer and a founder of Cambridge-based Millennium Pharmaceuticals, which develops and markets anti-cancer and other drugs. Becky Levin is the founder, chairwoman and chief executive officer of Boston-based Levin and Co., an executive search firm that specializes in recruiting for life science and venture capital companies.
Melissa Lindberg, director of marketing at the MLS Property Information Network, which tracks home sales, said the sale price of Seahome is the highest single-family price ever recorded for the North Shore by the Multiple Listing Service.
The Levins are no strangers to the luxury market. After relocating from California and purchasing a Boston condominium in 1992, they bought a historic 33-room mansion in Middleton, R.I., near Newport, in 2000.
Becky Levin declined to discuss the purchase of Seahome or the couple's plans for the estate after initially agreeing to a telephone interview.
"She's very happy with her decision to move to Manchester but would prefer to keep the details of her personal sale private," said Barbara Vaughn, a representative for Becky Levin.
The couple is known for furnishing their homes with extravagant amenities.
A llama, two peacocks and nine African sika deer were acquired for the grounds of the Levins' Rhode Island mansion, a 2001 Business Week story on Mark Levin noted.
The couple spent $750,000 on a grandfather clock, two vases and two commodes for their homes in Boston and Rhode Island after "Mrs. Levin directed (her interior designer) to travel around the United States and Europe to locate 'outrageous' antiques for purchase," according to documents in a civil suit. The suit was filed by the Levins against the dealer who sold the antiques, claiming the goods were not as advertised. The Levins lost but have appealed.
Prices reduced
Three years ago, the Times reported skyrocketing oceanfront home prices in Manchester.
Harborwatch, at 4 and 5 Norton's Point Road, was listed for $12.6 million and the Wyck Estate at 1 Smith's Point Road was on the market for $23.5 million. Despite predictions of record-breaking sales for the town from real estate agents, buyers never surfaced at those prices.
"Normally, market conditions do not affect the higher end," said Joe Velez, owner of VCM Realty in Manchester. "But this time, they have because subprime is spilling over into everything."
Rising rates of defaults on subprime loans, which are mortgages given to people with poor credit, have caused some mortgage lenders to file for bankruptcy and have been blamed for declining real estate and stock markets, among other things.
Lanse Robb, a LandVest principal and real estate agent who works with many corporate executives, said high-end buyers usually don't depend on subprime loans. But their cash is often tied up in investments that are affected by the real estate and stock markets, influencing the price they can pay, he said.
It's not that luxury homes aren't moving in Manchester and across the state. According to the town's principal assessor, Ginny Noyes Thompson, waterfront homes are continuing to sell at slightly above their assessed values. Seahome, for example, is assessed at $9.39 million.
The number of waterfront property sales in Manchester is on the upswing, Thompson said, with a dozen waterfront homes selling in the last two years at prices ranging from $2.7 million to $10.5 million.
"A lot of waterfront stuff is selling and it's been going for good money," said Thompson. "We've had quite a few big sales."
Luxury home sales are up throughout the state, according to Jonathan Radford, who researches the luxury real estate market and brokered the Seahome sale. So far in 2007, more than 260 Massachusetts homes have sold for $1 million or more, up more than 10 percent from the same time last year, he said.
According to Radford's statistics, excluding sales on Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, at least five sales have topped $10 million. The most recent real estate newsmaker was last week's sale of Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt's Brookline home to Red Sox owner John Henry for $16 million. That estate was on the market for $22 million several years ago, according to the Boston Herald.
In Manchester, Harborwatch sold about six months ago for $10.5 million after several years on the market at $12.6 million. The estate was assessed at slightly more than $9.5 million.
The Wyck Estate remains for sale. Robb said it is not unusual for high-end homes, particularly historic, custom or otherwise unique dwellings, to remain on the market for a year or more.
Robb, the listing agent on the Wyck property, said while several offers near the original asking price have come in, the Wyck homeowners have chosen not to sell yet. The estate is now offered as two separate properties, the 8-acre main estate at $14.75 million and a carriage house on 2 acres listed at $2.75 million.
Robb added that Manchester is still perceived as a "great value" by those who are looking to purchase second homes but have had no luck in, say, the Hamptons or Martha's Vineyard.
The drop in price doesn't worry Robb, who said the luxury market remains relatively strong considering that most of his clients buying in Manchester are not looking for a primary residence.
"At the end of the day, what are these people owning these properties for? Nothing," said Robb. "Considering that, these are very big numbers."
What you get for $11 million
A home with history: The original Seahome house was built by Robert C. Hooper, founder of the Boston terrier dog breed, in 1899.
Your own peninsula: The home rests near a private sandy beach.
A deep-water dock: Skip the 10-year wait for a mooring permit in town; the dock in the backyard is fully licensed.
A room with a view: The 578-square-foot conservatory is a glassed-in room with views of the ocean and French doors opening into the gardens.
Two kitchens: Choose from the gourmet kitchen or the caterers' kitchen. In both of them, there are views of the ocean.
Indoor waterworks: If the oceanfront view isn't enough, a room called "The Grotto" includes a vaulted ceiling and an artificial waterfall.
A place to rest your head: Five bedrooms, an au-pair suite and a two-bedroom private apartment in the main house; three bedrooms in the Tea House.
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