A tiny, 80-year-old shack in Portsmouth’s South End is causing quite a stir after being listed for $2 million.
The 320-square-foot home is located on a .34-acre lot bordering Marcy, Pray, and Partridge streets is expected to sell at a premium well above its $681,100 assessed value because it offers a spacious yard, or can subdivide the land into three lots. The section of town is very sought after, making the property price even more inflated.
“I think what the attraction is that those pieces of land just don’t exist in the desirable South End,” Mayor Jack Blalock said Tuesday. “It’s a beautiful little property very close to the water and is accessible to (Prescott) park and downtown. It’s unique.”
According to city records, the home is located at 445 Marcy St Portsmouth, NH, was constructed in 1940 and has a replacement cost of $57,785. It is listed as a residential home with asbestos roofing. The land is valued at $678,200.
Zillow shows the median home value for the neighborhood is around $442,500, nearly doubled the national average, is expected to increase 6.8% next year, compared to a 6.3% rise for Portsmouth as a whole. The home itself is valued at a 345.1% premium versus the midpoint and is priced 246.7% more per square foot. The reason: the land is a hot commodity.
Realtor Liz Levey-Pruyn listed the house one week ago. There are published ads in the real estate sections of the New York Times and Boston Globe to attract prospective buyers.
“I’m definitely seeing some interest in that I’m fielding all kinds of phone calls and emails,” Levey-Pruyn said Tuesday.
The listing says this is an “opportunity of a lifetime” to “build your dream home on the last large lot available in Portsmouth’s historical and highly sought-after South End.”
Levey-Pruyn said there is a caveat; there is no guarantee the house can be demolished, the future buyer will have to work with the Historic District Commission.
