The Book of the Month CEO who enlivened the aging business in a down market may have managed to pull the same feat with his Bowman Avenue home.
The top listed luxury home in Austin that went under contract last week is the single-family home at 2103 Bowman Avenue in Tarrytown. It is asking $2.6 million and had just 13 days on the market, according to the Eklund-Gomes team, which tracks deals for homes listed publicly for at least $2 million. The sellers are Blake and Catherine Orlandi, who bought it last year when it was asking $2.3 million, according to public records.
Blake is CEO of the century-old company Book of the Month, which he’s credited with rejuvenating. His 1941 home isn’t quite as old, but like print books, it’s part of a market that’s considered past its heyday. Inventory is piling up, homes are lingering longer on the market and price cuts have become common among the city’s top luxury sales, especially for sellers who bought their homes after the market’s peak in 2022. Just down the street, a spec mansion at 2209 Bowman Avenue sold after 193 days on the market and a price cut. Another recent top weekly sale, a single-family home with a seller who bought it last year, likely sold at a loss.
Final sale prices aren’t available, but the home at 2103 Bowman went under contract with an asking price 13 percent higher than it was asking last year. The $300,000 difference is a modest but unusual price bump for a market that’s been in decline.
The 3,200-square-foot home has four bedrooms, four bathrooms and a fenced backyard with a detached garage. Moreland Properties agent Monica Painter has the listing.
The second most expensive home to go under contract last week is a rare condo sale. Unit 1701 at the Seaholm Residences, a condominium converted from an old power plant at 222 West Avenue, is asking $2.4 million.
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