Housing

This Could Be America's Most Expensive Barn

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Barns are usually buildings used on farms to store crops and equipment. As such, their value to owners is very limited. They rarely are constructed for human use, or at least have not been until recently.

Real estate agents have a new name for barns that people live in. “Barndominiums” are converted barns, or ones built to act as houses. Sometimes they are hybrid buildings, with a section that acts as a home and a section for traditional barn use. Many of these are made from “kits” and are built from steel. Others are conversions of older wood structures. According to Barndominium Life, they are cheaper to build than many houses and also may have lower maintenance costs.

One converted barn sits in one of the most expensive sections of Connecticut. The town of Roxbury is about 70 miles northeast of New York City. Its population is about 2,300. That may have grown as people fleeing the city take permanent residence in the area.

The barn at 85 Painter Ridge Road has a price of $3,495,000. Given how hot the real estate market is in Connecticut, the owner may get that price. A buyer would get relatively small living quarters and a huge workspace that could be used for a number of things.

The house/barn covers 5,376 square feet and sits on 45.95 acres. It has a very modest three bedrooms and three and a half baths. Voytershark Farm, as it is known, also has a 6,912 square foot second floor that is essentially a loft. The eating area is expansive, as the listing says. “A few steps up is the dining area open to the kitchen with tumbled stone floor, pizza oven, island with breakfast bar and 10 burner Southbend double range.”

Roxbury’s population is over 91% white, according to the Census Bureau. The median household income is $118,971, about $50,000 above the national numbers. The poverty rate is well below 2%.

The house was last sold in 2004 for $800,000. Since then, it has been on the market several times. It is the most expensive home on the stretch of Painter Ridge Road. Most other homes there are priced below $1.5 million.

Click here to see which county has the most expensive homes in America.

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