$3.25M sale a record for off-water site

Newport Daily News, July 16, 2010 by Matt Sheley, Daily Staff Writer

The single largest non-waterfront residential home sale in Middletown's history became official on Thursday.

Realtors Melanie Delman and Robin Nicholson of Lila Delman Real Estate said the Stony Brook estate at 502 Indian Avenue sold to Donald Desrosiers and William P. Dewey Jr. of Newport for$3.25 million--a record for the town, according to the Multiple Listing Service documents.

The property which has three residences on a 2-acre lot on the east side of town was sold by LP, a Houston-based limited partnership,according to municipal records.

Given the state of the market, Delman and Nicholson said those looking for a high-end home have many options not available a few years ago, something real estate investors are taking advantage of.

"This property was close being listed publicly when it came under contract," Delman said. "It's been a difficult market, but people looking for a luxury home have a number of opportunities that won't be around forever."

The sale was confirmed late in the afternoon by an official with the town clerk's office. According to the official the town collected $13,000 in tax stamps from the transaction.

Specializing in high-end waterfront properties, the Newport based real estate firm also is listing the Gray Carig estate owned by Hollywood actor Nicolas Cage, a 12-bedroom, 10-bathroom mansion that's seen its price tag drop by more than a third since it first when on the market in October 2009. Today, Gray Craig is listed at $9,995,000.

"It's a pretty interesting trend," Delman said "What we're really seeing is that buyers looking for value at the higher end are getting some amazing deals that simply weren't there before."

Newport Daily News, July 16, 2010 by Matt Sheley, Daily News Staff Writer