The number of boats registered in the United States has increased by more than 30% since 2013 and is expected to continue to rise. Private docks are becoming a scarce commodity, which has caused the price of private docks to skyrocket.
The wall street property is a term that refers to private docks. These docks are becoming increasingly more valuable as boat sales soar.
Joanne Falla realized she needed to upgrade her living quarters and her yacht.
Her little house in Harwich, Massachusetts, couldn’t accommodate her close-knit family—a father, two sisters, a brother-in-law, a nephew, and a dog. The 51-year-old Boston-based computer professional had been living and working in the 1789 building that had been her father’s law office for 30 years before the lockdown began.
She desired a house in the region so she could spend holidays and weekends with her 80-year-old father, Jim, and the rest of her family.
She also wanted to extend the family fleet, which at the time consisted of a single 11-foot motorized and oar-powered boat constructed by her father in the early 1960s. It couldn’t securely contain the whole clan. So when she and her father came upon a used 16-foot cat boat at Arey’s Pond Boat Yard in Orleans, he jumped at the chance.
Joanne, too, found a new home at the boatyard. She saw a home on the other beach one day while checking over the boat inventory. It had everything a Cape Cod home should have: aged shingles, blue shutters, and views of the water—and it was on a hill, high enough to keep storms at bay.
The home was 4,983 square feet in size, with five bedrooms, 512 bathrooms, and approximately 200 feet of pond frontage. A boathouse nestled in a tangle of brilliant green marsh grass sat just below it. The property featured a 100-foot dock, which was maybe the greatest feature.
Jim Falla on the float of his daughter Joanne’s 100-foot dock at her home in Orleans.
Photo courtesy of The Wall Street Journal’s Tony Luong.
The terrace of Joanne Falla’s five-bedroom house, which will serve as the family meeting place, offers a view of Arey’s Pond. Lower right is the boathouse.
Photo courtesy of The Wall Street Journal’s Tony Luong.
Her father insisted that the two have a tour of the home with a broker. They found themselves inside a well-kept house that had just undergone a high-end renovation. It was ready to move in and spacious enough for the whole family. They reasoned that the boathouse would make an excellent office for Ms. Falla, who also owns a home in Boston.
However, at $4.4 million, she ruled it out as being out of her price range. Until, that is, the price dropped just before her business, Snowflake, headquartered in San Mateo, Calif., was about to go public.
“I made a $3.5 million bid, and the broker phoned a few hours later to say it had been accepted,” Ms. Falla recalled. Her father moved in the following day after she closed on the house in February.
The dock, which can hold two or three boats, is the luxury Ms. Falla is most thrilled about at her new house today. She isn’t the only one who shares her enthusiasm.
The ship is moored off the coast of Cape Cod.
Joanne Falla purchased a house that was large enough for her close-knit family—and their boats.
When his daughter Joanne isn’t using it as an office, Jim Falla enters the boathouse, which may also be utilized as a guesthouse.
The Wall Street Journal’s Tony Luong
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When his daughter Joanne isn’t using it as an office, Jim Falla enters the boathouse, which may also be utilized as a guesthouse.
The Wall Street Journal’s Tony Luong
Houses with private boat docks, bulkheads, sea walls, and lifts are in high demand as Americans purchase pleasure boats in record numbers in an attempt to maintain social distance and remain healthy in nature. Boat sales hit a 13-year high in 2020, according to the Chicago-based National Marine Manufacturers Assn., rising 12 percent from the previous year. Last year, about 310,000 motorized boats were sold in the United States.
People working remotely at what used to be their weekend home are also contributing to the increase in sales. Their decision to relocate now justifies the significant expenditure such boats need.
Mr. Falla treated his family to two new boats: a used cat boat that cost about $15,000 plus an extra $26,000 in restoration work funded by Ms. Falla, and a used 18-foot skiff that cost $11,000. He also spent $2,200 on a mast-and-lines kit for his 1963 yacht, which did not include his work.
In certain seaside areas, new docks are hard to come by. New dock building is prohibited on the Cape due to environmental regulations, but homeowners may repair or replace an existing dock, according to Jon Hagenstein, partner of Beacon Marine Construction in Mashpee, Mass. He’s already registered his 4-month-old twins, Wyatt and Mila, for dock permits that will expire in 20 years.
Parts of Maine, the Florida Keys, and the almost 700 miles of coastline in Talbot County, Md., are also seeing a shortage of inventory, with properties on the market selling fast.
Joe Giardino’s $150,000 Seahunt GF is moored at his Islamorada, Fla., sea wall.
The Wall Street Journal’s Mary Beth Koeth took this photo.
The inventory situation is “difficult,” according to Heather Shields, senior vice president of Legacy Properties at Sotheby’s International Real Estate in Maine.
She sold a 5,100-square-foot, four-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath home in Cape Elizabeth for $1 million through FaceTime a few weeks ago, but the buyer has yet to view it. Her most recent top listing is a $3.5 million five-bedroom, four-bath, 4,679-square-foot home on Sebago Lake in Standish. On 150 feet of lakefront, it features a dock, a stone bulkhead, and a sandy beach.
Cliff Meredith, owner and partner of Meredith Fine Properties in Easton, Maryland, claims that his company’s revenue has quadrupled this year compared to the same time in 2020.
Mr. Meredith, who believes that 90 percent of his sales are waterfront homes, said, “The attraction for this region is that it is within driving distance to New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and D.C.” “Everyone is afraid of flying, therefore the safest option is to go in a vehicle with your own family.”
Covid sold a $2.8 million, 5,251-square-foot, four-bedroom, five-and-a-half-bath house in Oxford with 1,700 feet of coastline, a tiny sandy beach, and wide sea views shortly after the strike. It also includes a boat lift and a dock.
Maryland is a state in the United States.
Christian, Karl, Katarina, Amy, and Phillip Williams, together with their dog, Oshie, on the pier of their holiday home in Oxford, Md.
The Wall Street Journal’s Reema Desai Boldes
After the death of their son, Karl and Amy Williams purchased their house as a place for the family to congregate and welcome guests.
The Wall Street Journal’s Reema Desai Boldes
The home has a total living area of 5,251 square feet.
The Wall Street Journal’s Reema Desai Boldes
One of the four bedrooms in the house.
The Wall Street Journal’s Reema Desai Boldes
A tiny sandy beach and 1,700 feet of coastline are available on the property.
The Wall Street Journal’s Reema Desai Boldes
Karl Williams is getting his first boat, a white 27-foot Boston Whaler, ready to sail.
The Wall Street Journal’s Reema Desai Boldes
Karl Williams, 58, the COO of a Virginia technology firm, and his wife, Amy, 50, are the purchasers. Their three children, Phillip, 16, and Christian, 19, and Katarina, 26, will share the house, which is 90 minutes from their family’s home in Arlington, Va. The acquisition was prompted by the loss of a third son, Ethan, 22, last year after a short illness. Mr. Williams stated, “We always thought we’d buy a second house that would be a magnet for our family and friends.” “It was the perfect moment for us, and it was a fantastic decision.”
His first boat, a white 27-foot Boston Whaler, is currently moored at the pier. He wouldn’t say how much it cost, but claimed he received a 25% discount just before the dealership closed on Christmas Eve. He’s taking an online course to learn how to use it.
The 1985 West Point graduate said, “I’m an Army person.” “I didn’t go to Annapolis,” says the narrator.
According to Brett Newman of the Newman Team, Coldwell Banker Schmitt Real Estate in Islamorada, any home design takes a second place to its position on the water and its boat setup in the Florida Keys.
Mr. Giardino purchased a home in the Venetian Shores neighborhood with a 350-by-7-foot dock.
The Wall Street Journal’s Mary Beth Koeth took this photo.
He said, “You don’t even go inside the houses; you simply walk to the rear and look at the dock.” “It won’t work out if the canal is in disrepair, the water is too shallow, or the canal isn’t clean enough for the bait fish to live in a bait pen.”
Joe Giardino, 62, owner of Adirondack Kayak Warehouse in Amsterdam, N.Y., paid $1.95 million for a 3,382-square-foot, four-bedroom, three-bathroom home in Venetian Shores.
The home is not only on Giardino Drive, but it also features the sea wall of Mr. Giardino’s aspirations.
The real home did not appeal to him. It featured a blue mansard roof and a 1975 design. At a cost of $125,000, he rebuilt the roof, redid the stucco façade, and installed hurricane glass in 37 windows. The new style is described as “Florida Coastal Modern” by him.
Mr. Giardino closed on July 2, only one day after selling his 3,576-square-foot, five-bedroom house for $1.975 million in the same neighborhood.
The new home includes a boat lift for his $150,000 Seahunt GF and a 350-by-7-foot dock that Mr. Newman, the realtor, estimates cost the previous owner $350,000 to construct. Mr. Giardino purchased his first Keys home in 2004, but has been eyeing this new one for at least a decade. He remarked, “The stars finally aligned and I was able to acquire it.”
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As Boat Sales Soar, Private Docks Become Precious Real Estate. The wall street journal real estate rankings is a blog that discusses the most expensive and valuable properties in the world.
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