Real estate news

Sometimes you win, sometimes not so much

By Will Collette

7 Niantic Ave, Westerly (from Westerly Tax Assessor
database)

There were two interesting real estate transactions reported yesterday. Both were pretty big ticket sales.

According to the Providence Journal, the sale of a Watch Hill mansion at 7 Niantic Avenue, Westerly, set the record for the statewide top price for a residence so far this year. The lovely little 7200 square foot hideaway on 9.7 prime acres sold for $11.65 million.

That’s almost double the year’s previous top price of $6.4 million for a house in Jamestown. The buyer of the Westerly property was a Florida holding company.

According to the Westerly Tax Assessor’s database, the current assessed value for the Niantic Avenue property is only $9,666,100. At the reported sale price, that’s $2,000,000 more than its current value.

The Governor's old house on the Prov East Side

Not so lucky was Governor Lincoln Chafee. His 4,000 square foot home at 54 Barnes Street on the East Side of Providence has been on the market since February. The price was chopped several times from its original asking price of $889,000. 

Chafee bought the house in 2006 for $939,000.

According to the Providence Journal, Chafee finally sold the house to two Brown University professors for $675,000. 

That’s $214,000 less than the original asking price, and a loss of at least $264,000 for the Governor. Hope he wasn’t underwater on his mortgage.