Located on Onota Lake in Pittsfield, MA, 122 Blythewood Drive is a 1.25-acre private island estate with its own car bridge. There is nothing else like it in Berkshire County. Even so, it sat for more than 100 days with another brokerage without selling before it came to me.
Let's cut straight to the headline of how we changed the game for this property. 19 strategic pieces of media published reaching over 436,650 views making it one of the most widely recognizable and talked about properties in the county.
Simply taking photos and putting the property into the MLS didn’t yield the right buyer. Through carefully crafted storytelling, meticulous follow-up, and unprecedented social media reach, we were able to get this one-of-a-kind home into the hands of its next owner.
The Challenge: Selling a Property with No Comparables
Bringing 122 Blythewood back to market meant solving four problems:
Communicating the Island Lifestyle: Helping out-of-market buyers (from Boston, New York, and regional metro hubs) picture living on a private island in all four seasons.
Addressing Logistics: Reassuring buyers about the ease and practicality of the private car bridge, dock mechanics, and mainland proximity.
Planning a Full Renovation: The house needed a full gut renovation. Buyers needed a clear picture of what that would take before they could commit.
Reaching Beyond the Local MLS: Getting the property in front of buyers looking for luxury waterfront in Western Massachusetts, wherever they were.
My Strategy: Lifestyle Video
Rather than relying solely on standard photo galleries, my team and I produced a dedicated campaign of high-quality, cinematic videos capturing what living on Onota Lake actually feels like.
Showing the Four-Season Experience: Through my Living in the Berkshires channels across Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube, I’ve spent years creating a bank of our area’s best attractions through every season. When we launched this listing, I was ready to help this property’s next buyer picture a life in 122 Blythewood, from peaceful, snowy mornings to lively summer evenings spent at the cultural amenities just a short drive away.
Generating Massive Social Reach: The work didn’t stop at launch. Over the course of the listing we published 19 pieces of media across Instagram and Facebook, and the property was viewed by thousands of local and regional luxury buyers:
Facebook Impressions: 326,650 views
Instagram Impressions: 110,000 views
Total Organic Video Views: 436,650+ total views
Knowing the Water: I grew up in Pittsfield in a family that installs docks on Berkshire lakes. Questions about dock access, seasonal installation, and conservation rules are ones I’ve been answering my whole life.
Leveraging the Sotheby’s International Network: Through William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty, we put 122 Blythewood in front of buyers in New York City, Connecticut, and Boston, in print and online. It also ran on the screens at Tanglewood.
The Result & What It Means for Berkshire Sellers
122 Blythewood closed at $1,700,000, the highest-priced sale in Pittsfield over the previous 12 months. It sold in a more difficult market than we’ve seen in recent history. The campaign made it one of the most recognized houses in the county.
The house needed a full gut renovation, so I connected the buyer with builders, dock specialists, engineers, and everyone else a project like this needs. They knew what the work involved and who would do it before they committed.
That’s how I approach every distinctive property in the Berkshires. Reach makes a property known. Local relationships find the right buyer and give them what they need to say yes. It works for homes that didn’t sell the first time, too.
Thinking of selling a unique or waterfront property in Berkshire County? I’d love to get in touch with you and see how I can help.
