Rhode Island
The Most Expensive House in Rhode Island—Around the Corner From Taylor Swift’s Home—to Ask $23.5 Million
A waterfront estate in Rhode Island could set a record in the same neighborhood where Taylor Swift owns a home.
The 2.75-acre estate on Pawcatuck Avenue in the village of Watch Hill will soon hit the open market for $23.5 million, making it the most expensive active listing in Rhode Island. The property is in Westerly, a peninsula in the state’s western-most section, at the meeting point with Connecticut and New York.
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The main New England-style home spans 7,000 square feet across four levels, with five bedrooms, several reception rooms, a wet bar and a wine cellar. There is also a three-bedroom guest house, which spans close to 5,000 square feet, along with a saltwater pool surrounded by a bluestone deck and a newly refinished tennis court, according to the listing with Geb Masterson of William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty.
“Properties don’t often come up for sale in Watch Hill,” Masterson said via email. “People and families often stay for generations, holding onto the homes their parents bought.”
The property, which has an alternate address on Bay Street, is fully outfitted with amenities for waterfront living, including a boat house, boat garage and a dock that can accommodate a 70-foot yacht. There is also a three-bedroom guest house, according to the listing.
Swift has owned a home in the Watch Hill neighborhood since 2013—a bolthole where the global pop star reportedly throws the best July 4th bash in town. Additionally, earlier in the year, Swift and her fiance, football star Travis Kelce, were rumored to be marrying in a coastal wedding venue nearby, but recent gossip suggests the wedding will actually be held in New York City in less than a month, on July 3.
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The sellers purchased the Watch Hill property in April 2020 for $10.4 million via a trust, from the family who built it in 2006, according to records accessed through PropertyShark. The 2020 sale was approved by a Connecticut District bankruptcy court, as the prior owner was in the middle of bankruptcy proceedings related to the home as well as to a ski resort he owned in Vermont, according to court documents and news reports.
The sellers and previous owners couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.