Linda's Southeastern CT Real Estate Blog

When a town as small as Ledyard (population 15,000) gets a premium ice cream stand, it's big news.  Last month, after a few weeks of delays, Cows and Cones finally opened amidst the greenhouses and cows at Alice's Acres Farm.  It's been standing room only ever since.

My office is within walking distance of Cows and Cones.  It is so close that I can't even burn off calories walking there; the distance can be measured in feet.

I was lucky enough to get the inside scoop on Cows and Cones as it was being built on Military Highway.  Farmer Pete, the owner, gave me the grand tour of the place. The machines were just being delivered, and work was progressing as we walked through the building. I hesitate calling it an ice cream stand since it comes complete with heat, a bathroom and a second story.  Oh...and internet access. But I was most amazed to discover there was a basement. I'm not sure how I missed the foundation going in, since I drive by at least twice a day on my way to and from work. Pete shared with me his future plans for the place, which were all good for the town of Ledyard. A few lucky kids got to work there this summer. I say lucky, because besides being surrounded by ice cream, Cows and Cones is air conditioned. It is no wonder over 80 kids submitted applications. 

Alice Acres, established in the early 1900's, was always the place to go for plants in the spring, corn and tomatos in the summer and mums in the fall.  Now there is ice cream. Besides a variety of hard ice cream favorites, there are some unique soft ice cream concoctions! My favorite is soft ice cream so for the carnival I tried the soft vanilla ice cream with the butterscotch burst. Actually there are lots of burst options so I have plenty to look forward to.  For the purpose of the carnival, my husband experimented with a banana milk shake. Jen in my office tried an Expresso Bean Ripple cone.  And there are smoothies, which we joked could be considered healthy, since they have some actual fruit in them.

Owner Pete Bargmann is noticeably proud of his property which he says is green, clean and good for children. The pavilion is graced with beautiful baskets and fresh stones, and wood chips have been recently scattered. It is a picturesque spot for parties, picnics and barbecues. The kids love watching the cows, goats and pigs. (A local private school holds cow chip bingo every year.)  And yes, there are Hay rides. 

The location on Military Highway is rural despite being located just outside the back gate of the Navy Submarine Base in Groton. It is becoming a popular place for Submariners on their way home from work. 

 The Ledyard community is really proud of their native son.  Farmer Pete has continued to maintain his farm in an age and location where farming isn't necessarily considered cool. I think we can all learn a lot about operating a business from Peter Bargmann.  In an article in the Thames River Times, he sums it up.

 "The biggest thing in a successful farm is diversification and synergy; those are the two biggest words.  With diversification you can offer your customers almost everything they'll be looking for, and diversification leads to synergy.  The ice cream shop is a great example of that.  All the aspects of the farm, in one way or another, will help out the others."

For additional information about the Town of Ledyard, be sure to visit my Ledyard PhotoBlog.  And watch for Eastern CT Photo Friday at my Eastern CT Real Estate Blog.

To Find Cows and Cones, follow Directions to MY OFFICE and I'll walk you over!  

I recently listed a home in Ledyard that was previously listed with another agent for about 50 days.  It was a very nice raised ranch with an awesome four season sun room. The home was listed back in May for $324,995.  It is a house I'm familiar with so I was rather staggered when I saw the asking price.  After a couple weeks, the price was reduced to $309,995. It was reduced again about a month later, this time below the magic $300,000 price point.  By then it was too late.  The spring market was over.

I listed this home a few days ago at a reasonable $275,000.  The house sold this weekend. 

I've gone on ad nauseum about the importance of good photos and exposure on the internet to get your home sold.  Those things matter a lot (let's say about 25%) but makes the assumption the home is priced right to begin with.  Part of the service you pay for, in the form of a commission, should be a market analysis on your property.  Your marketing strategy, (the other 75%) should be to price your home very near market value as determined by a thorough market analysis.  Once a fair price is set, marketing can then kick into high gear. Here's where the agent gets to strut their marketing stuff with quality photos and internet exposure.   

One problem I see in determining market value is that agents put too much weight on closed sales.  Where the market has been is important, but where the market is heading is critical in determining proper pricing.  In a rapidly increasing market, pricing doesn't matter as much.  If you are not pressed to move quickly, eventually time and price will meet.  In slower times, chasing the market down can be disastrous.  An experienced agent knows to look at the big picture by asking questions.  Where are  interest rates?  What time of year do more homes sell? Is inventory rising?  What price ranges are selling better. (Don't assume the answer to that one is lowest price ranges.) 

Every weekend I send a Ledyard electronic update to my current sellers, future sellers and others interested in Ledyard statistics.  While preparing this, I also do a quick Eastern CT snapshot to be sure Ledyard is not experiencing anything unique from the rest of New London County. Doing that report and writing this blog force me to take a look at market trends.  When setting the listing price of the now sold raised ranch in Ledyard, I observed there have been no pending sales in Ledyard over $300,000 for the past few weeks. 

I determined that $275,000 was the right price. The smart sellers agreed with my analysis. 75% of our marketing was complete.  

We expect to close on September 14th.

I've seen some weird stuff happening here lately.  There have been way too many nominations for the August "special kind of stupid award".  Unfortunately, I can't link to the posts since most of them have vanished.  But take the now gone El Salsa dude as one example.  He didn't last beyond a few days but as my friend Bob Carney would say...."he's a playa...yo!"  Yesterday a new player arrived on the scene.  I believe he may be the Active Rain's version of a Nigerian Scam. 

Ok, here's my next point.  Honestly, I don't get the Active Rain Referral Exchange idea. I've given out a gazillion referrals in my over 30 years in the business and I can't imagine finding a referral agent that way.  Although I don't like the way they are trying to monetize the site,  I believe the Active Rain Gods deserve to make some money.  Not as much as Tiger Woods but a nice chunk of change.  Ok, so they all look like they are only 22 years old - the important thing to remember is they thought of it first.  They brought us all together.

Which brings me to my question - How much would pay to play on Active Rain?  If it actually costs something to be here, do you think it would clean up the place??   

DISCLAIMER:  This is not Carnac's monthly prediction post.  Look for that at the end of the month.

(Here is where my neon subscribe to me button should appear but this is much to serious a topic for that.)