The stone and cedar exterior home overlooks open lawn and mature trees. In addition to custom trim work inside, the home's formal dining room connects to the kitchen through a butler's pantry. A step-down great room has the largest of the home's four fireplaces. The master bath features an oversize steam shower and separate whirlpool tub. Sharon Wanat, who is in charge of the International Homes Collection of luxury homes for Parsippany-based Burgdorff ERA, said there are exceptionally strong luxury submarkets throughout the state, including Princeton and Rumson in northern Monmouth County.
Kitchens are paramount.
In some of the older homes, if the kitchens and bathrooms are not already renovated, buyers want good-sized rooms so they can make those renovations themselves. Wanat said long-established luxury communities, such as Short Hills and Essex Fels, where land is no longer available for development, are seeing buyers purchase older homes and tear them down to build new ones. People have made money in the stock market and received bonuses that they know may not come again. A recent listing in Short Hills is typical of the market there, Wanat said. The 20-room home built in 1906 in a Neoclassic style has been maintained to preserve the important architectural details.