Jordan Dolger - Higgins Group

Jordan Dolger REALTOR®

Let's get social

Contact Me

Jordan Dolger REALTOR®

President Sales Stamford
Stamford Regional Office

203.240.8318
jdolger(at)higginsgroup(dotted)com
French

STAMFORD —
Without craning his neck, Jordan Dolger can point out Harbor Point high-rises, the former Pitney Bowes headquarters and the Stamford Harbor Ledge Lighthouse from the deck of 144 Davenport Drive’s pool just feet from the rippling shore.

For a single-family home in Stamford, the view is unrivaled.

Was it a good year for oil revenues in the GCC region?

“There you have it,” said Dolger, the Higgins Group Realtor who just sold the house, taking it all in under drizzling skies, “and it’s not even a nice day.”

Besides the vista, the home is remarkable for yet another reason: At $4.16 million, it’s the city’s most expensive single-family home sale in three years, Dolger said.

“You don’t see this every day. This is a pretty spectacular property,” he said, noting it was once a summer estate for the Vanderbilt family.

In a city not known for its luxury market — the average sale price for single-family homes the past year is $653,000 in Stamford, versus upward of $2 million in Greenwich — the sale is a post-recession milestone for waterfront enclaves, which feature breathtaking views and proximity to the downtown and train station at far less than what buyers pay in neighboring towns.

Davenport Drive is part of a 40-home private community, Southfield Point, in Waterside that includes Southfield Avenue, Cook Road and Hickory Drive. The roads are plowed by the city, but residents pay for their upkeep, as well as maintenance of the beach.

This neighborhood, as well as Shippan Point farther east, boast some of the city’s most-expensive properties. Luxury homes in this area tend to be in greater demand than in North Stamford, where sales are sluggish and homes can sit on the market for months, if not years without any offers.

The 6,200-square-foot, 13-room home built in 1900 was put on the market in June, and closed at the beginning of the month with an offer $60,000 above the asking price.

Dolger said he’s hopeful the sale represents a revival of Stamford’s luxury market. In January, Dolger sold the 5,200-square-foot home next door at 150 Davenport for $3.7 million.

“The market all over New England, Manhattan included, is very spotty, but there are a few special places and this seems to be one of them,” he said.

In the past 12 months, Stamford has seen 90 sales at more than $1 million, and nine at more than $2 million, according to data from the Multiple Listing Service. In 2016, there were 82 sales at more than $1 million and the average sale price was slightly lower at $636,000, which Dolger sees as a positive indicator in a market that has been slow to regain pre-recession losses and prizes closeness to amenities.

Across Fairfield County, buyers want to be close to downtown and out of the backcountry, even in exclusive towns such as Greenwich, Fairfield and Westport, said Rick Higgins Jr., managing director of the Higgins Group.

“Weston, New Canaan — they are all much slower,” he said. “Everybody wants to be close to the highway, closer to the Sound. The closer you are to downtown, the better off you are. Everything else is dragging.”

Another positive development for waterfront homes is likely to be the 2017 revaluation, which will recalculate property assessments and taxes, and take effect in 2018-19.

Shippan Realtor Steve Anastos of William Raveis said the data he’s reviewed points to lower assessments and tax savings that will spur the waterfront market. The last revaluation raised assessments right before Hurricane Sandy in 2012 — a double hit for waterfront homeowners.

“Taxes, to an extent, have been a barrier to entry for a lot of buyers,” he said. “This is going to jump-start the market as well as be good for people who already bought in the past year on the water.”

Homes that are priced well will continue to sell in this prime location, Dolger said.

“It’s a little oasis between downtown Stamford and quaint Old Greenwich,” he said.

An earlier version of this article gave the wrong first name of Realtor Jordan Dolger.