Stumbling economy puts SJ’s most luxurious homes within reach

Stumbling economy puts S.J.’s most luxurious homes within reach


by Julia Hays on
May 14th Comment |
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The stately mansion at 351 Creek Road in Moorestown features spectacular moldings, cathedral-size stained glass windows, and a splendid great room that can accommodate 100 guests.

Situated on eight exquisitely private acres, the home offers sweeping views of the Rancocas Creek, soaring ceilings and a lofty price tag of $4.99 million.

“It is the most unique property in Moorestown — absolute heaven for an art collector or someone who entertains on a large scale,” says Ann Dragon, broker at Kurfiss Sotheby’s International Realty in Philadelphia.

Still, the pool of buyers who can afford such grandeur is shallow and often lukewarm. And in a market flush with million-dollar listings, well-heeled home shoppers have their pick, from an $8.9 million farmhouse in Moorestown artfully expanded to include a ballroom and bowling alley, to a $2.9 million chateau in Cherry Hill with a gymnasium and home theater.

“Even in a robust economy, it will take six months to a year to sell a multimillion-dollar property,” Dragon says. “In this economy, many of those buyers are sitting on the sidelines because they want to make certain the market has hit bottom before they buy.”

In 2010, only 21 homes sold for more than $1 million in Burlington, Camden and Gloucester counties, according to the Multiple Listing Service. In 2005, as the home market was peaking, 49 homes sold in the million-plus range.

So far this year, only five of 134 properties listed for seven figures have changed hands.

“That is a lot of inventory,” says Eric Axelson of Long and Foster in Cherry Hill. “It will take years to go through that backlog.”

Former Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb holds the record for the highest sale price to date in 2011. His home in Moorestown’s tony Orchard Landing development sold for $1.3 million — nearly half the original listing price of $2.5 million — in February after 238 days on the market.

Ex-Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens also took a big hit in the real estate game. In 2004, he paid $3.9 million for an 8,000-square-foot manse on a double lot in Moorestown outfitted with such amenities as a jacuzzi tub in every bedroom.

Only 17 turbulent months later, Owens was bound for the Dallas Cowboys and put the house on the block for $4.4 million. In November 2010, when the property finally sold, Owens was wearing a Cincinnati Bengals uniform. He had dropped the price to $2.675 million, taking a $1.22 million loss.

Dragon notes that only one property listed for more than $4 million has sold in Moorestown in the last three years. Tabula Rasa, a 20,000-square-foot manse off Westfield Road, was recently listed for $8.9 million. David Lewis, owner of B.T. Edgar Son Realtors in Moorestown, says it is the broker’s highest-priced offering to date.

“Based on the amount of money that has gone into the property, it’s a very good buy,” he says.

Louise Carter, the listing agent, has cast a wide net, marketing the home to professional athletes and executives of Fortune 500 companies. It will be featured on an upcoming episode of the HGTV show “Million Dollar Rooms.”

The current owners, Orsula Knowlton and her husband, Cal, bought the 19th-century farmhouse at the core of the property in 2004. They had recently sold a medication management and pharmacy company and invested some of the proceeds in such improvements as an in-house cafe and catering kitchen, basketball court, virtual golf course and an orangery inspired by George Washington’s citrus growing space at Mount Vernon.

“We also visualized a place that we could share to benefit nonprofit organizations,” Knowlton says. “That has been our greatest joy in this house.”

She feels confident the home will attract a buyer, likely someone local.

“I know there are people in Moorestown who could afford this house. I hope one of them will buy it and keep that tradition of sharing the house with nonprofit groups.”

Meanwhile, the Knowltons are shopping for a slightly smaller home.

“There is no shortage of wonderful properties to choose from,” she enthuses.

Indeed. Here is a sampling of high-end homes:

46 Manning Lane, a 9,844-square-foot chateau in Cherry Hill, features a gymnasium, bar, pool and home theater for $2.9 million.

8 Leeds Road, a Georgian-style brick manor in Moorestown, includes a sunroom with rotunda ceiling, banquet-size dining room and climate-controlled wine room for $2.19 million.

6 Alton Ave. is a French-inspired show-stopper in Voorhees with a piano bar and hardwood dance floor. A 150-foot tunnel connects the main house with a 3,800-square-foot pool house with a fireplace, sauna, commercial kitchen and office. It’s reduced $399,000, to $2.9 million.

1155 Barbara Drive, a country-style chateau in Cherry Hill, boasts a circular drive, tennis courts, and four-car, heated garage on two manicured acres for $3.5 million.

Axelson says there are abundant opportunities for aspirational buyers, especially in the million-dollar range.

“If you are in an $800,000 house, it is a very advantageous time to go after the $1 million home because there is a lot more room to negotiate at that price point,” he explains.

Axelson points to the McNabb house as a prime example.

“At $1.3 million, it was a steal. And the property taxes are only $25,000.”

With the highest property taxes in the nation, New Jersey buyers of high-end homes can expect to pay thousands of dollars each month on top of their mortgage. The annual tax bill at 401 Loucroft Road in Haddonfield, currently listed at $3.95 million, is $61,225.

For 12 Royal Court in Voorhees, on the market at $2.9 million, taxes totaled $67,158 in 2009.

Axelson has urged clients whose home values have declined to seek a reduction in their property taxes.

“If your taxes are twice as high as the taxes on the houses around you, it can be much more difficult to attract a buyer,” he advises.

Dragon says the listing at 351 Creek Road offers multiple enticements. The original element in the compound — a home once known as the Rancocas Springs Boarding House — provides a sense of history and place, with an expansive waterfront patio and fountain.

A contemporary addition with a turret houses the owner’s collection of religious art and artifacts.

“The stained glass windows are removable, in case the buyer doesn’t care for stained glass,” Dragon says.

She listed the mansion at 500 E. Mantua Ave. in Wenonah, once home to Edith Royal, heiress to the Royal Typewriter fortune. Built in 1901, the property retains its original grandeur with eight fireplaces, a majestic carved staircase, a conservatory and 4.8 acres of grounds.

The price tag was $1.99 million, after the sellers lopped $495,001 off the price.

Dragon marketed the house through Sotheby’s International network, searching for a buyer who would be smitten by the mansion’s stunning architecture. She advertised it in the Wall Street Journal’s real estate supplement, “which winds up on a lot of very nice coffee tables.”

After more than six months, there was not a single showing. Last week, the owners decided to take the house off the market.

“The owners really love the house,” Dragon says.

Reach Eileen Smith at (856) 486-2444.

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