A recent off-market sale in Sharon, Connecticut, illustrates how high-end real estate transactions are increasingly moving away from public listings. The property at 338 Calkinstown Road, a custom-built Federal Georgian estate on 35 acres, sold for $5,750,000 without ever being publicly listed. Bill Melnick and Elyse Harney Morris of Elyse Harney Real Estate represented the transaction, approaching the seller on behalf of a buyer whose needs could not be met by current inventory.
For buyers and sellers operating above $3 million in markets like Litchfield County, a private sale is often the preferred outcome. Sellers avoid the disruption of showings and public price history, while buyers avoid competing offers. The Calkinstown Road property had originally been sold in March 2020, before pandemic pricing took hold. The sellers capitalized on the property's appreciation, achieving a fair price through a streamlined process.
The house, built in 2019, features a traditional Federal Georgian style with hand-carved fireplace mantles, antique wood library paneling, a slate roof, and copper gutters. It includes five wood-burning fireplaces, 6,280 square feet, five en-suite bedrooms, and a chef's kitchen. The 35-acre setting includes a heated gunite pool, bluestone patio, and professional landscaping. The property borders one of the highest-recorded sales in Litchfield County history, a $10 million transaction on an adjacent parcel, also built by Robert Fish.
Litchfield County is experiencing an unusual moment where transaction volume has moderated from its pandemic peak, but dollar volume is holding or increasing, driven by activity at the top of the market. Cash buyers from finance and technology sectors in New York City are active in the $3 million and above tier, making mortgage rate headlines largely irrelevant. Off-market activity increases when inventory is thin and buyers are serious, conditions present in Sharon and surrounding towns. Agents with deep community relationships, like Melnick and Morris, facilitate these transactions based on trust and local knowledge.
For sellers considering a move but reluctant to go through a public listing, the current environment may offer a simpler, faster, and more private transaction. The right buyer may already exist in someone's network. Explore Sharon, CT listings and community information at Elyse Harney Real Estate.
