Marblehead’s real estate record just got a little more expensive.
A sprawling waterfront estate at 10 West Orchard St. has sold for $8.9 million, making it the most expensive home ever sold in town, according to listing agent Linda Hayes of William Raveis.
The five-bedroom, seven-bath home sits on more than an acre overlooking the water and offers about 9,000 square feet of living space. Built in 2011, the shingle-style home was designed by SV Design and constructed by Essex Builders.
For Hayes, who has spent more than three decades selling real estate, the record price came down to a combination of location, views and exceptional construction.
“It is right on the water, with views of the harbor and lighthouse,” she said. “The quality of the build is A-plus.”
She added, “I’ve been doing this for 34 years; I’ve been in a lot of houses… This one has solid wood doors, the trim, the roof lines.”
The previous Marblehead record was set in October 2021, when 102 Harbor Ave. sold for $8.5 million.
“It’s great to get a price like this in Marblehead,” Hayes said. “We get these prices in Beverly Farms, Manchester. It’s interesting that it wasn’t on the Neck.”
Hayes said one of her favorite features becomes apparent almost immediately upon entering the home.
“They designed it so when you descend the staircase, you descend into the living room and look right out at the water … and this amazing view,” she explained.
The primary bedroom suite is “to die for,” Hayes said. It features separate dressing areas, windows designed to bring in natural light, a bathroom with a soaking tub and a Juliet balcony overlooking the water.
Throughout the home are the kinds of details Hayes said distinguish it from more conventional luxury construction: a slate roof, stained glass, custom woodwork, red birch floors, coffered ceilings, three fireplaces and divided-light windows.
“There was nothing cookie-cutter about this house,” she said. “It was just stunning.”
There’s also a large family room over the garage, a home gym and multiple spaces that can serve as offices or libraries. Outside, curved fieldstone walls frame bluestone terraces facing the ocean. There’s no swimming pool, but Hayes said the property has room for one.
The sellers were the home’s original owners. Hayes said both they and the buyers are “extremely private people,” and she declined to identify them or discuss their circumstances beyond saying the sellers had reached a “different phase of their life.”
The $8.9 million property didn’t linger on the market.
It went under agreement in just six days.
“That is crazy,” Hayes said.
The sale comes amid strength at the upper end of the North Shore housing market, Hayes said, helped in part by a strong stock market.
“It speaks to the health of the market, especially the luxury market,” she said.
For now, 10 West Orchard St. sits atop Marblehead’s real estate record book.
But perhaps not for long.
Two properties — both on Crowninshield Road — are currently on the market for $15 million and $21 million.
