Big House On Boggs Hill Fetches Record Sale Price

By John Voket

A 8,200-plus-square-foot residential home on a 4.4-acre lot at 162 Boggs Hill Road has topped the charts as the highest selling residential home on a restricted parcel of its size in Newtown history. According to information provided by Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, new owners closed on the home February 28 for $1.875 million.

A representative at the agency said prior to the sale, the home, which was built in 2002, was owned by a relocation company that had a family residing there for approximately two years.

The name of the buyer was not available, as the warrantee deed had not been filed with the town clerk at press time March 1, but agent Joan Saldu from Coldwell Banker said the price was well justified by the opulent features of the property, including fully wired electronic infrastructure throughout including, IT, security, and entertainment.

A walkout basement gymnasium, a fully wired surround sound media room, and separate billiard parlor complement an 1,100-square-foot finished basement, while the 7,156-square-foot above grade living area is furnished with hardwood or marble floors and all stone, granite, marble, or brick surfaces. There is one propane and three gas fireplaces, a built-in covered commercial-grade propane grill off the mahogany rear deck, which also features a built-in whirlpool and hot tub.

The yard incorporates a Gunite swimming pool and a separate, private mahogany deck is accessible from the master bedroom suite, and the exterior of the home features wood, brick, and stone treatments. That master bedroom has a full spa-sized bath with a steam shower, separate whirlpool, and full marble tile treatments.

The physical construction of the building is commercial grade from the plumbing and electrical, to the foundation and framing, Ms Saldu said.

Newtown Assessor Tom DeNoto recently visited the home to verify certain aspects of the original assessment, and said some of the original data was adjusted due to a discrepancy on the number of bathrooms, the interior and finished basement square footage. While some of the features elevated the assessed values, a downward adjustment in the overall number of baths and finished area valuation created a recent $23,000 net adjustment from $1,123,770 to the current assessed value of $1,103,320.

“The revaluation is generally about 70 percent of the average market value,” Mr DeNoto explained. “But the current market value might tend to be somewhat higher in a perfect statistical model.”

Mr DeNoto said an inaccurate assessment might also impact marketing of a home if it affects the “comps,” or comparable listings and sales the real estate industry uses to fix appropriate asking prices for similarly outfitted homes with similar features on similar lots. He noted that in the past year, a 6,663-square-foot home at 42 Oak Ridge Drive on a two-acre lot was assessed at $1.4 million and a neighboring 7,518-square-foot home on a 2.64-acre parcel that recently sold was assessed at $1.39 million.

The assessor added that the inaccuracy in the original assessment at 162 Boggs Hill is important to note, because it reinforces the importance of homeowners or builders providing accurate information as the town completes its current revaluation program.

“Getting this information right as it goes into the system might help you avoid a time-consuming trip to the Board of Assessment Appeals in the future,” Mr DeNoto said, adding that local homeowners should be looking for mailers from his office if measurement clarifications are required once field agents complete exterior inspections for the revaluation.