Residential Real Estate

The year in high-end home sales started off with a bang with a nearly $4 million deal in early January, and the dollar figures kept going up after that.

The land purchase is more than triple what a previous group consisting of some of the same developers paid for the 10-acre site a year ago.

About $2 million and 670 acres separated the top two priciest area home sales in November.

The 230-acre site near the Hull Street Road-288 interchange was approved five years ago for the mixed-use development, which Main Street Home’s Vernon McClure said will cost $400 million.

Described as the largest public hunting preserve on the East Coast, Orapax has hosted numerous events over the years, including for Benedictine Schools and menswear brand Ledbury.

Behind the project is Powhatan-based Cross Creek Development Corp., which intends to develop Thacker’s View in a joint venture with the Thacker family that owns the land

Developer Walid Daniel and builder Bill Pangburn are finishing up the first two of the townhomes that are filling a vacant spot along North 33rd Street, and replacing an area eyesore in the process.

A mystery buyer snagged the top sale along Three Chopt Road, while a pair of lawyers purchased the second-priciest home from an LLC tied to a local moving and storage company.

“Looking at recent comps, some off-market but mostly on-market, Richmond has been on fire,” said agent Margaret Wade, who listed both homes and recently sold another at $3 million.

The seller was a director at plumbing and HVAC distributor Ferguson Enterprises. A new-construction home on Riverside Drive was the month’s second-highest sale.