The Recent and Sad Demise of Interest in Antiques
By Bill Primavera
By Bill PrimaveraWhen my wife and I first got married, way back in the dark ages of 1965, we were anxious to fill our first apartment with interesting furnishings.
Because I had gone to college at William & Mary in the historic town of Williamsburg, Va., I was really into antiques. My wife Margaret was totally a modern kind of gal and the furniture she brought to our first apartment was her bedroom set from her parents’ home, which was strictly modern.
What I brought to our first home was a collection of antiques I had been gathering since I first arrived in New York City three years before. During that time, there were many antiques shops in New York City, especially along lower 3rd Avenue, and I spent almost every lunchtime visiting them and adding both furniture and accessories to my first bachelor apartment, which was located in the historic landmark neighborhood, Brooklyn Heights.
My future wife was impressed when she visited my place for the first time. I further indoctrinated her to furnishings of the past by suggesting for our honeymoon that we visit Colonial Williamsburg, then Charlottesville, Va. (specifically the home of Thomas Jefferson).
Isn’t it interesting how one can align with another’s interests once exposed to them? Not only did Margaret jump on the bandwagon of antiques discovery and purchase, but she soon far surpassed my interest.
For many years we acquired pieces both big and small, filling an 18th century home we eventually bought in Yorktown Heights, a large six-bedroom house where there was plenty of room to house our collection.
However, when it came time for us to downsize a half-dozen years ago from that 3,900-square-foot home to a 1,800-square-foot condo in Trump Park, we endeavored to unload the bulk of our collection, first through an open house sale, then by inviting local antiques dealers to buy from us wholesale. The sale directly to the public didn’t produce much and the antiques dealers didn’t even bother to show up.
As a result, the buyers of our home lucked out with a lot of furniture and accessories left behind, which they, moving from a smaller apartment, were grateful to inherit.
Very honestly, I couldn’t understand how the interest in antiques could slack off so dramatically in recent years. I had to look up the reasons on the interest and was not all that surprised to find that, by some estimates, antique furnishings have decreased in value by 45 percent over the past 15 years. Once-hot commodities struggle to find buyers and, when they do manage to sell, can see up to a 70 percent drop in price.
The reasons given for the current lack of interest include the fact that baby boomers are downsizing their homes and flooding the market with antiques and other furniture. Add to that the fact that many more people are buying open concept homes, which don’t require as much furniture.
So, while there are far fewer people who are interested in relics from the past to incorporate into their homes, I will continue to take pleasure in indulging my own love for antiques. Further, if and when I find a little treasure I want to adopt from former owners, I can have it at a cheaper price.
Bill Primavera is a realtor associated with William Raveis Real Estate and founder of Primavera Public Relations, Inc., the longest-running public relations agency in Westchester (www.PrimaveraPR.com), specializing in lifestyles, real estate and development. To engage the services of The Home Guru and his team to market your home for sale, call 914-522-2076.
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