Low hopes on high end

In a down market, big houses with big price tags are a particularly tough sell

(MATTHEW J. LEE/Globe staff)

S TOUGHTON - That 68 Patrick's Run has been on the market, unsold, for more than a year just might mean no one wants it at its asking price of $1.25 million.

Having to sell a pricey home like this in a down market isn't easy. It probably isn't helping that in a time of a high energy prices and environmental concerns, the home clocks in at a generous 4,800 square feet and is loaded with options.

If there ever was a time for real estate brokers to reevaluate their tactics, now would be it. The real estate slide in Massachusetts is approaching the three-year mark. And while some areas of Massachusetts show promise, most industry professionals and economists say they do not know when the market will bottom out, except not soon.

But Renee Roberts, the listing broker for the property from Century 21 Access Properties, has reason to believe the house is a good deal. It cost more than $900,000 to build, not including the cost of the lot.

"The truth is that this house is well worth a million in any town," she said.

Big houses with big price tags have their own particular challenges right now. For one, there are a lot of them on the market.

Currently there are 213 homes in Massachusetts for sale for $1.5 million or more that have sat on the market for more than a year, according to Movoto.com, a California company that tracks real estate markets. Norfolk County, where Stoughton is located, has 40 of them.

Altogether there are nearly 1,300 homes listed for sale at $1.5 million or more - 300 of them priced above $3 million - and they spend an average of 212 days on the market before a buyer comes along.

These listings include a $9 million, six-bedroom palace in Westport near the water, a 15-room wonder in Beverly at $2.8 million, a five-bedroom in the Back Bay for $8 million that's been on the market almost three years, and a slew of $2 million homes in Weston, Newton, and Concord.

One reason for the slow sales, real estate agents say, is that buyers in the current market, well aware that property prices could continue to fall, are particularly value-driven. That is, they're looking for screaming bargains.

"One of the things that I've noticed is that a lot of the assumptions of the past, 'because the house is in this community, of course buyers will flock to it,' don't necessarily apply in this particular market," said Jody Moore, a realtor with Remax Landmark in Lexington, which has some of the metro region's highest property values.

"I find that the buyers today, especially in the upper end, really want value for their money and are willing to look in other areas you wouldn't normally expect." she said. "You have to make your property stand out and get noticed, or it's just going to be another property languishing on the market."

Moore endured her own crucible with a Lexington home that had been for sale for more than a year, at an original list price of just under $1.9 million. The long lack of interest forced her and the sellers to get creative: They built a fence and installed curtains and window treatments to add privacy, as the home is located on a busy corner. They even moved the furniture around.

Something must have worked. The sellers have recently put the house under agreement.

Peter P. Casey, a broker at Prudential Wilmot Whitney Real Estate in Weston and former president of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, said marketing expensive homes in today's market is a matter of pricing.

"We got accustomed over the last several years to pricing houses a little ahead of the marketing, expecting that the market would catch up and people would pay what they're asked," he said. "Where the market is declining, you end up getting a bigger spread in the value people perceive, versus the price being asked. And that spread gets bigger and bigger every day that it's on the market."

Pricing may be a hurdle for the Patrick's Run home in Stoughton. For one, there has never been a million-dollar sale in the town. Indeed, the highest-priced sale recorded in the town is for a neighboring home on Patrick's Run at $780,000 in 2005, according to Warren Group, a real estate information firm.

There is simply little to compare it with, and buyers, especially in the Internet age, are facile at compiling data on homes and their local markets.

"It's difficult when there are no comparables in the town," said Marlene Wise, a broker with Coldwell Banker in Canton who has her own million-dollar property on the market on Cattail Lane in Sharon.

The two-story, 5,000-square-foot, brick house is listed at $1.5 million and has been on the market for almost two years. Wise said that the home is part of a newer development and hopes it will finally sell now that more houses in the area have finished construction.

Back in Stoughton, Patrick's Run has lots to boast about. It is full of architectural detail, designer appliances, Brazilian cherry floors, and a beautiful master suite with double closets and spa-like bathroom. Moreover, it is situated on four acres in one of Stoughton's best neighborhoods.

It's not that it isn't desirable. Roberts, the broker, said the home had drawn offers, including one for more than $1 million from a qualified buyer that the seller turned down months ago.

"In a town like Westwood, Sharon, or Canton, that house would be close to $2 million with the amenities and everything in it," she said. "It's a gorgeous house. It's one of the most high-end houses inside that I've seen."

The challenge of selling now has produced some benefits for brokers and buyers and sellers. Like many agents, Jody Moore, the Lexington broker, has begun to create individual websites for each property. Her latest, 136cedar street.com, is the Web home of a five-bedroom at $1.7 million.

Moore said the Web has emerged as a cheap solution to give properties some individuality and wide exposure.

"This is Real Estate 101," Moore said. "We are listening to buyer feedback and understanding the market for a particular property," she said. "After all, it only takes one buyer."

John Guilfoil can be reached at jguilfoil@globe.com.