Nearly 100-Year-Old Cape Cod Farmhouse Listed for $399,900 for Sale in Just 10 Days
A Cape Cod, MA, ranch-style home that sold after just 10 days has been in the same family for over 90 years.
The listing at 9 Oxbow Road in East Falmouth, which was built in the 1930s, has never been renovated without some renovations and updates, so not only did it retain its historic charm, but it sold for a walk-up price of $399,900 on a street where $1 million homes are the norm.
“The home will require significant improvements, perfect for contractors, investors, or home owners looking to remodel,” the listing says. “A hidden gem waiting to be refined and brought back to life.”
Many were up for this challenge.
“Oh my gosh, never-ending, never-ending interest,” the listing agent for Sotheby’s International Realty-Falmouth Brokerage Kerry Marzot he tells Realtor.com®. “Over 40 shows. Many, many donations. It was very busy.”
The photos show the time-capsule quality of the house, including all original wood kitchen cabinetry and hardware, original wood floors throughout, and a large ceramic bathtub in the pink bathroom.
The home, which also boasts a “farmer’s deck” and a two-car detached garage, sits on .21 acres and is surrounded by Cape Town’s famous beaches, including Menauhant Beach.
But the water is far enough away that buyers won’t have to worry about the sea erosion that has seen the value of some homes on the Cape River.
The very reasonable price in the area with a median tag of $1.6 million also shows that the exceptional home not only needs a “significant amount of work” including a new septic system, but is close to the main road (Rt. 28) with Cape Cod Winery—the agent says “can be noisy”—across the street.
“That’s why the price was the price,” he said. “There’s also only one bathroom and it’s on the second floor, which is funny too.”
Built before en-suite bathrooms for each room were standard, the new owner will probably want to add another, as there are three bedrooms.
Although city records show that the house was built in 1936—and Marzot says by law that date must be used when selling—the truth is that the house is older as it was built by the 93-year-old seller’s family.
“He grew up in this house,” the agent says of the seller, who has seen big changes in his hometown of Teaticket in nearly a century, not just in price – there’s been a 114.5% increase in Falmouth properties since January 2020 – but the climate.
“I don’t think Oxbow Road even existed in the 1930s, frankly,” he says.
Marzot won’t say the final price as the sale is pending, but he does reveal that the house went to the highest bidder, and that the elderly seller is being represented by a lawyer.
The buyers, who the agent won’t name, won’t tear down the house but plan to renovate it—turn it into a modern farmhouse, he says.
“It’s rare to find a house that’s been in the family for generations, but a house like this, that’s been owned for over 90 years? It’s pretty special.”
