A Village SFR Record

Regular readers know that we analyze the market here at MBC through all sorts of methods, including custom data runs and "anecdata," taking individual stories about homes that seem to tell us something broader about the market generally, or perhaps a submarket.

The new sale at 10 Cambridge (4br/3ba, 3058 sqft.) offers us a chance both to highlight a new record price for the "Estate Homes" section of Manhattan Village – and to tout our own success in delivering that result for our seller clients.

The closing at $4.000M is substantially the highest for an SFR sold within the Village, besting the prior record by 10%. 

It's only the 6th sale among the Estate Homes over $3.000M, a roster which includes the pre-remodel acquisition of 10 Cambridge at $3.010M in 2023. 

Three of the top 5 sales behind the gates took place last year, as our chart shows:

Most of those sales are distant enough in the past that it they won't appear with all their images online, but you might be able to make this link work to see them. It goes directly to an MLS source called "OneHome" that realtors can use to send properties to clients. (Don't worry, you don't have to become Dave's client to see those homes now.)

What you'll see with each one is that they were upgraded from their 1980s build condition, most of them with updates that obviously date to the early 2000s.

Meantime, 10 Cambridge had a massive remodel completed in 2024, and some dated features of the floorplan were eliminated, like the "sunken" living room. 

10 Cambridge sports an uncommonly large lot (10,751 sqft.), some of which makes for usable outdoor space, and some of it along the hillside facing east. 

It's in just about the most private, inspiring location imaginable within the Village, at the end of a cul-de-sac and with no neighbors on 3 sides. Its elevated position above the road below and the community pool add to that sense of being in one's own world – a secluded, gated space within a guard-gated complex.

The superb, newer remodel, larger lot and private location were all reasons why a buyer was ready to reach a record price to make sure to get it.

A quick note on how we sold this one: The property had been rented for a couple of years, when the owner made the decision to sell. While the tenants were still there, and during a period of time while we were prepping the home for sale, we took a slightly different approach to marketing the home. 

First, we promoted it to our own lists, and let clients know about it. Following a specific rule, we were able to keep it off the MLS for a bit.

Soon, we transitioned the listing to the MLS – but, following a different rule, kept it off of Zillow, Redfin and thousands of other real estate websites. It was visible to agents only.  

That's how we ended up showing it several times, and selling it just a few days before we were ready to open the floodgates and publish the listing live on the internet. Only buyers working with agents came, and obviously one was very motivated and stepped up before the home reached broader distribution. 

It wasn't exactly an "off-market sale" – but the home had not yet been visible online outside of the MLS. It was a unique approach to exposing the property, and it worked out.