What’s the catch?
Well, it’s in Winner in south-central South Dakota – population just shy of 2,900 – and the owner wants it sold fast.
“It’s a really neat house. It’s been around here a long time,” said listing agent Rick Shippy, who owns Shippy Realty in Winner with his wife, Lin.
Shippy grew up around the two-story corner house dubbed the Read Mansion for former owner Mabel Read.
“It’s a big, big, house,” Shippy said. “Pretty rare.”
Residential real estate priced more than $100,000 is rare enough in Winner. Shippy estimates there maybe are five homes listed for that much each year, “but nothing with this kind of square footage.”
It’s not just the 5,575 square feet – that equals less than $25 per square foot -- but the unique, historic look of the property that is capturing attention.
Built in 1914, no one really knows the story of how or why it was built in Winner, Shippy said. But local legend includes an account of multiple houses being moved to the area and joined together.
It was owned by the Read family for much of the 20th century, then sold to a local business owner who made some updates and upgrades to the utilities. He moved and sold it to an area surgeon who turned it into a hunting lodge.
After he passed away, the estate rented the home to an area doctor. But it’s now time to sell, Shippy said. And there is no shortage of inquiries.
Since going on the market Jan. 3, Shippy Realty has taken dozens of calls and watched the listing spread almost virally online, sending 22,000 hits to their website the first day it was up.
“We’re getting comments from California, Florida, all over the country,” Shippy said. “I think there were hunters that had stayed in it hunting from different states. People are sharing it all over the country.”
The home could still function as a hunting lodge, but it also is set up as a single family house, albeit a uniquely designed one.
Former owner Read, Shippy said, was “an extremely eccentric lady” who likely appreciated the home’s multiple parlors, winding floor plan and Italian chandeliers.
The other day, 14 people were inside looking it over, Shippy said, and he told his wife to make sure all their cars were gone later.
“Because I’m not sure we’d hear if anyone was in the house,” he said. “You can get lost in there.”
The house appraised at $235,000 a few years ago, Shippy said. A new owner likely will want to make improvements, but it’s not in bad shape.
“It needs some work. It needs maybe some new windows. There are some little things, but the house is move-in ready,” Shippy said.
And while it’s more than priced to sell, Shippy reminds interested parties of two things: Someone still has to be able to afford to operate it, and it’s still in a small town in south central South Dakota.
“Everyone’s like, ‘Why’s it so cheap?’ Well, it’s Winner, S.D. It’s what we call supply and demand,” he said. “It’s extremely hard to find anybody that wants a 5,600-square-foot home. It’s double the size of most big homes in town.”
Even so, “I’ll be shocked if we don’t have an offer by 5 p.m. Friday,” he said. “I think it will be sold by next Friday at that price.”
