Just Listed in the Poconos: New Construction Contemporary in Pocono Pines

There are thousands of houses like this located all over the Poconos. But there are very few that match this house at 5447 Woodland Ave., Pocono Pines, PA 18350 in the quality of the materials and workmanship. | Photos: Roz Wasserman, Pocono Dream Home

Ho-hum. Another Friday, another contemporary house in the Poconos.

Well, before you move onto viewing last Tuesday’s trinity or this weekend’s Shore house, I recommend that you give this Pocono Pines new construction house for sale a good, hard look.

Why? The reason why should be evident from the photo above. Poconos houses are bargains for three reasons: One is because land, materials and labor all cost less up there than they do down here in Greater Philadelphia. Another is that there’s still plenty of land to build on, and that means that Poconos builders can satisfy the demand for second homes by building more houses — the Shore’s overbuilt as it is.

The third is that most Poconos builders build houses that are good enough — no more, no less. This house rises above that standard, as one look at its exterior should make clear.

This house in Lake Naomi is the product of a custom builder called Pocono Dream Home. Roz Wasserman and her husband Mike started this company sometime around a quarter-century ago after moving to the Poconos from New York’s outer boroughs.

“My husband was in real estate, and I was in show business, believe it or not,” she says. “I was a publicist and a talent manager for years. I worked with all the celebrities.”

There came a time, however, when she sought a less frenetic atmosphere.

“I was a city person and I wanted that country feel,” she says. “I had a lot of friends who told me I needed to look into this area, and I fell in love with it.”

Even though she was a publicist, Wasserman also knew something about real estate and development, and the couple got to building. Most of the houses Pocono Dream Home builds are — what’s that British term the fashion press uses all the time? Oh, yes, “bespoke.” That’s a fancy way of saying that people come to them to have a house built to their specifications.

But they also build the occasional house “on spec” — that is to say, without knowing who will want it beforehand. I strongly suspect that by the time you’re done reading this and looking at the pictures, you will want it.

(Left to right) Living room, kitchen, bedroom

Something you should notice right off the bat is the quality of the materials that have gone into the construction of this house. They’re a notch above what you see in most Poconos houses of this type.

“Everything we do is custom woodworking,” Wasserman says. “Everything we do is high-end.”

Kitchen and living room

Including the stone fireplace in the two-story-high living room, the chiseled granite countertops in the kitchen and the stained knotty pine boards that give the four-season room off the living room its warmth.

Four-season room

Speaking of warmth, the windows in this house are European triple-pane windows. Those will help cut down on your energy bills.

Four-season room, living room and kitchen

And the ceiling fans in the living room and at least two of the bedrooms will help your climate control system work more efficiently as well.

Bathroom

The attention to quality carries over into the tilework in the bathrooms, which feature pebble-stone accent strips and shower floors.

Primary bedroom

Another thing you might notice about this Pocono Pines new construction house for sale is its mixing of contemporary style and traditional detailing, like the turned-wood stair railings and the crown moldings in the primary bedroom’s tray ceiling.

I’ve seen this combination in a handful of other Poconos contemporary houses. The difference here is that Pocono Dream Home executes it just a little bit better.

Rear elevation and patio; the patio has a hot tub and fire pit

“We mix it up and take it to a new level because what we realized is that a lot of people like that but a lot of other builders didn’t do it,” says Wasserman. According to her, a lot of buyers from the city are looking for just this mix of traditional and modern styles.

Most of the houses Pocono Dream Home builds are in Lake Naomi, which abounds in contemporary-style houses. Mike Wasserman says Lake Naomi accounts for about 99 percent of the company’s business. And they get a lot of business from buyers who then recommend their friends to the company.

In which case, if you find this Pocono Pines new construction house for sale at all appealing, you might want to give Pocono Dream Home a call as soon as possible, for chances are that someone else in Lake Naomi will have steered one of their friends toward it already.

THE FINE PRINT

BEDS: 3

BATHS: 2 full, 1 half

SQUARE FEET: 1,800

SALE PRICE: $749,000

OTHER STUFF: Not mentioned in the listing is the $840 annual homeowners association fee, which covers safety and security services and a capital reserve contribution (Tobyhanna Township maintains the roads in Pocono Pines). And, as this house is in Lake Naomi, you also have the option of joining the Lake Naomi Club if you so desire. Information about the club, its facilities, and membership, including dues and application fees, is available on the Lake Naomi Club website.

5447 Woodland Ave., Pocono Pines, PA 18350 [Pocono Dream Home via Zillow]