Harmon Bell bought all of Bell Island for $727.18 back when people called it Roaton Island. Of course that didn’t include any of Pine Point. However, it was still a good deal, plus he got to name it after himself.
That was in 1852. Today, a parcel of land as small as 5,000 square feet, the size of a typical lot in Bell Island, can easily command more than $1 million, according to Bill Tims, a Realtor with Van Slyck Associates. He and his wife, Mary Jean, live on Bell Island on a tiny street that can barely accommodate two full-size cars going in opposite directions. Their yard is smaller than a paddle-tennis court, but they have a garage — a luxury on Bell Island. “Cars weren’t around when most of the original houses were built,” says Tims. “Every available square foot of land has been spoken for; there’s no room to add garages to existing houses.”
So why would anyone pay $2 million or $3 million for a house with no garage located so close to the road that passers-by can look in the window?
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