All About Long Island

Down Market — What Down Market? October 9, 2006

All the doom and gloom predicted for the Long Island real estate market seems to have had little impact on the proposed sale of Billy Joel’s Centre Island waterfront estate.  What do you get for the $37.5 million dollar asking price?  If the 14,000 square foot, 5 bedroom home with eight fireplaces, a guest cottage, bowling alley, wine cellar and pool don’t tempt you, perhaps it’s location on 14.2 acres of prime property hugging the shore at Oyster Bay Harbor will cause your heart to flutter and have you reaching for your wallet.  

Not there yet?  There’s always the added cachet of owning the home of a star — and one of Long Island’s own.  But before you put the agent’s phone number on speed dial you might want to consider that even Billy Joel couldn’t build a dock on his property, though he made a valiant effort.   As a national wildlife refuge, no new piers have been approved on these waters for a very long time.

If you get past the inconvenience of having to dock your boat(s) elsewhere, you just might find a little homestead you could love.