Tessa Carla Blog's: Priced at $25M, New Hampshire’s Most Expensive Listing Includes a Historic Horse Farm

Thursday, 11 March 2021

Priced at $25M, New Hampshire’s Most Expensive Listing Includes a Historic Horse Farm

New Hampshire Most Expensive — Michael Barron

The small state of New Hampshire is an unlikely contender in a bruising battle of multimillion-dollar properties. Yet we’ve seen a regular cadence of “Can you top this?” listing prices emerge in the Granite State.

In September 2020, a $10 million lakefront home was the state’s priciest property. It was quickly eclipsed by a massive $19.5 million mansion that landed on the market in November 2020.

Now, a $24.95 million property made up of five parcels and multiple structures has overtaken them both, snagging the title of the state’s most expensive listing.

The eye-popping list price will net a buyer about 50 acres of land and an array of opportunities in North Hampton, NH.

“It’s one of the most unique properties in the whole East Coast. It offers all these different lifestyle opportunities: equestrian, agricultural, and aquatic,” says the listing agent, Tony Jalbert. “It’s a vision by the owner of piecing together all these different components of the farm—anchored by a historic farm called Runnymede.”

Runnymede was founded by Alvan T. Fuller, governor of Massachusetts in the 1920s. His son Peter Fuller made the farm famous (and infamous) after one of his horses, Dancer’s Image, won the Kentucky Derby in 1968, only to be stripped of the honor in a doping scandal.

The younger Fuller kept and bred horses at the farm until the early 1980s.

Aerial view of estate in North Hampton, NH
Michael Barron

The barn on the property offers 4,080 square feet of space, with a 3,000-square-foot caretaker’s residence above it. It has 12 stalls, with hay drops, paddocks, riding and jumping arenas, and other amenities perfect for an equestrian lifestyle. There’s also a special spot in the barn celebrating its past accomplishments.

“It has an office that houses all the trophies that were won through the years for the farm,” Jalbert explains.

Lush acreage offers rolling meadows, pastures, and marshes, up against the Atlantic Coast.

Another highlight is the main house on the property: an 8,500-square-foot Colonial showpiece.

Jalbert tells us that the attention to detail in the main house is impeccable.

“When you walk into the main house, you’re walking into a very comfortable 8,500 square feet,” he says. “It takes advantage of the roll of the fields, marshes, and into the ocean. The expansive views are tremendous, so the outside comes inside.”

The first-floor master suite has a soaking tub surrounded by a curving stone wall, and there are four other bedrooms.

Stone is dominant in the main living space, with a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace.

“One of my favorite rooms is the den with a stone fireplace,” Jalbert says. “It used to be an outdoor patio area and they enclosed it, and it’s just fantastic.”

The kitchen on the main floor has a large pantry and bar area nearby. On the floor below is an awe-inspiring wine cellar made of stone and a theater room. An elevator can shuttle guests between all four floors.

For down time, there’s a gym and sauna.

The house also takes advantage of the verdant views and southern exposure, with the light that streams in through large windows.

In addition to a guesthouse, the property has a hobby building and another barn. The current owners created the massive compound when they purchased one parcel of the property in 2011.

“Their vision was to buy all the properties around [the main house] and create a special setting not replicated on the East Coast,” Jalbert explains.

He also praises the pastoral setting.

“It’s the home of all different types of species of birds and deer,” he says. “It’s just amazing.”

The properties are listed separately and could be purchased individually, but that would run contrary to the current owners’ vision.

Jalbert says the perfect buyer would share the same vision as the owner, with a feel for the land, the outdoors, and the privacy the property affords.

He sees such a person as “somebody who wants luxury but comfort, and somebody who loves horses and loves to farm.”

Because of conservation easements throughout the property, the acreage doesn’t present a prime development opportunity. However, the location is key, close to private jet access and about an hour from Boston.

“You don’t see this any more on the East Coast,” Jalbert says. “There’s nothing like it that has all of these different components.”