Brian - the trouble is they OVER-REACHED!  They can't sell the damn thing!  They've been trying since 2005 in a city where almost anything sells. The area already has some very, very heavy-duty homes.  There are a lot of McMansions along with some very elegant homes from the pre-war period and even the turn of the century.  Mostly Colonials and Tudors (some of the Tudors are quite Gothic).  I already HAD value from expensive homes surrounding me.  But these homes have a reasonable amount of LAND associated with them.  The value in my property is also in the land.  I bought when land was cheap (1996) and it was on 0.67 acres. There are very few areas that have that much land associated with them in our densely populated area.  0.5 acres seems to be almost a built in maximum - with this area being one of the few exceptions.  I didn't need this idiot cramming 8000 sq.ft. on .24 acres!   And although I haven't subdivided yet, I probably could and will at some point.  The shadows will be on the empty lot should I do that affecting its value - in probably the wrong direction. 

Just so you understand...the side of my house faces a main road. The house itself is on a very high-end street in one of the most desirable neighborhoods in the area (if not the most desirable.) Initially, this house was the gatehouse to a very large mansion that has since been torn down. Hence its small size.   They guy who built made the fatal error of constructing an enormous amount of square footage in a small space ON THE MAIN ROAD - with the bulk of the house facing the main road. It's practically sitting in the street. That house is like living in a fishbowl - you are there for all to see because the set-back is non-existent - and all the windows facing front mean you will never have any privacy.  The other problem is that the home was geared for sheer mass and I suppose "tasteless" is the operative word - actually, I'm being kind. The mother of a friend of mine asked my friend whether the zoning had changed and and whether the new construction was  a restaurant!  Someone else suggested it had all the grace of a dentist's office!  The topography allows for sane building on that road provided there is enough setback for a thing called TREES and landscaping - and perhaps some fencing.  He would have made far more money with 3000-4000 sq.ft. home that was well landscaped providing a shield between the street and the home.  I fenced in the back yard and allowed the maples to grow in. The result is when I'm outside in the warmer months on my deck or in the yard, the traffic does not intrude. Its almost like a clearing in the woodland.  Which is why I didn't subdivide yet.