Boston Sports Stars Often Struggle to Sell Homes
Jon Lester’s house spent less than a week on the real estate market, but most regional sports stars struggle for months, if not years, to unload their million-dollar homes.
Former Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester is poised to pocket a nice bonus, having landed a buyer over the weekend for his $1.8 million Newton colonial. Lester bought the five-bedroom, four and a half bath home, on a private lot on the Charles River for $1.3 million back in 2010.
If he’s smart, Lester is savoring his real estate winnings as he settles into his new life out in Oakland – and the speed with which he found a buyer. After all, the open house was just this past Sunday. The one-time Sox ace is actually an exception to the rule when it comes to local sports celebrities selling their mansions.
They may be golden on the court or diamond, but when it comes to real estate, former Boston sports stars like Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Curt Schilling haven’t exactly had the Midas touch.
Most have shot for the moon, only to be forced to accept a price for their gold-plated digs that is hundreds of thousands or even millions below what they had first hoped. And that’s after a slow sales grind covering months or even years.
Timing is everything in real estate as in sports. The problem is pro athletes, who have exquisite timing when it comes to playing, often have little control over when to pick up and move to another market.
“They can be traded and left holding a very expensive piece of property,’’ said Rosemary McCready of Coldwell Banker Residential in Weston, who has worked with Kevin Garnett and other regional sports stars. “It’s never easy selling a longer-term investment like real estate in a short period of time.’’
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Former Boston Celtic star Kevin Garnett sold his Concord spread at a lower price than he paid for it in 2007.Coldwell Banker
Just take Garnett, who sold his avant-garde, 11,000-square-foot contemporary in Concord for $3.6 million over the summer. The stunning modern home sits on more than 12-acres overlooking picturesque Howe’s Pond, with a lower level that features a killer trio of wine cellar, gym, and media room.
Sounds like a great price, until you take account that Garnett shelled $4.6 million for the property when he arrived in Boston back in 2007. And it took him nine months to close, having placed the home on the market back in October 2013.
“Mature athletes like Kevin wind up having houses all over the country because they have been traded so many times by the time they get to Boston,’’ McCready said. “It’s not like the typical homeowner who hangs on and plans to hit the market at its peak.’’
Fellow former Celtic stars Ray Allen and Paul Pierce have also had their dreams of real estate riches dashed by a fickle market. Allen sold his posh Wellesley Hills address last year for $4.6 million – down from the original $5.2 million he listed the 11,093 square foot gated mansion at. That was just $25,000 more than he paid for it back in 2007.
And Paul Pierce is still trying to sell his 7,631 square foot contemporary Lincoln spread, nearly a year after putting it on the market. He’s knocked $200,000 off the original $2.4 million listing.
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Former Red Sox outfielder Carl Crawford sold his Wellesley home for more than $3.2 million less than what he paid for it.Bill Greene/Globe Staff
Former Sox stars haven’t fared much better.
Carl Crawford, the one-time star outfielder with a $140 million contract who wound up traded away to the Dodgers, unloaded his 14-room home in Wellesley for $2.6 million last year – down from the $3.2 million he had originally asked for.
Adrian Gonzalez, the one-time Sox first baseman, sold his 10,729-square-foot mansion in Weston for $4.3 million, down from the $4.6 million he had listed it for.
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Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling struggled to sell his Medfield estate.Janny Kowynia via MLS PIN through Boston.com
But when it comes to sports stars and their real estate woes, few can match Curt Schilling’s years-long saga. Schilling rode into town as a savior to the Sox back in 2004, snapping up a 26-acre estate in Medfield for $4.5 million from former Patriots star quarterback Drew Bledsoe.
After putting his Medfield manse up for sale in 2008 for a staggering $8 million, it took another six years – and a number of steep price reductions – before Schilling landed a buyer this spring, only to see that deal fall through as well.
The former Sox ace’s mansion is back on the market once again. The new price: $2,450,000, or more than $2 million less than what Schilling paid in 2004.
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