Summer ENDLESS
WHEN SUMMER ENDS, INDOOR POOLS KEEP FUN AND FITNESS IN FULL SWING
In conversations with Greenwich Realtors throughout the year, one thing became clear: What buyers wanted had changed. In many cases, it was like night-and-day, or a 180-degree pivot from what had been motivating buyers for years before. Though it’s been an atypical two years and an extraordinary market in that time, the trendlines for what buyers wanted indicated that space was increasingly important, indoors and outside. It wasn’t as important to be closer to town or to have modest, low-maintenance lots.
Home offices, which have for decades been important to home buyers, ranked exceptionally high on their wish lists throughout the pandemic, and likely beyond it. Many buyers wanted more than one home office to accommodate two adults working from home and school-aged children who needed dedicated home-schooling and homework spots.
Having at-home amenities — at one time relegated to high-ticket luxury-market homes — became top priorities for all buyers, who saw the value of having a pool, exercise space, a sauna, home theater, or other spaces that fueled their passions and pastimes, within reach. Naturally, outdoor pools remain popular, for they offered buyers so many seasonal benefits: a place to entertain, to play, to exercise, or just to lounge away a hot summer day.
There is some relief afforded by the evenings’ temperature now, which hint at autumn to come, and for homeowners who’ve immensely enjoyed their pools all summer long, it may be a bittersweet time to see the pool closed for the season. Imagine the luxury of not having to forego a pool until next summer. There are builders and architects who have taken this into consideration, carving out space among their floor plans to accommodate an indoor pool, as well.
Steve Archino, a Realtor with Sotheby’s International
Realty in Greenwich, represents the seller of 849 Lake Avenue, Greenwich, an equestrian compound he refers to as the buyer’s “own private country club.” The main house, a 1930s-era farmhouse-style residence with five bedrooms, was renovated in 2019. Plus, there’s an 11-stall horse barn, with a tack room, office and two caretaker’s apartments. It also has expansive garaging for a car collection.
The compound at 849 Lake Avenue has two pools — an in-ground pool, outside, among the 4-acre grounds, and the second pool inside the home and complemented with a jetted spa. This north-of-the-Parkway property is currently listed for $6.995 million.
The in-ground pool at 40 Baldwin Farms, N., Greenwich, is part of a “spectacular backyard oasis,” according to listing agent Blake Delany, a Realtor with Houlihan Lawrence. Situated on two acres, the grand brick manor has six bedrooms,