Spring has Sprung! Lower Fairfield County Market overview.

                               Spring has officially arrived and no matter what we say, the leaves on the trees in New England ALWAYS open the first weekend of May-give or take a day. I know this as I have tracked this weekend for decades. It is not just my love of warmer weather and lush foliage, but as a child I would head north to compete horses in the Saratoga Horse Show in New York and when I would return on Sunday evening, the leaves would have sprung open and hidden away the view of all the neighbor's houses for the next few months! The first weekend in May is also the running of the Kentucky Derby, the first horse race of the coveted Triple Crown. Lots of excitement wrapped around a few days of the month of May.

                               The first week of May is also the official kick off of the Spring Real Estate market. This changed for a few years during and post Covid but appears to be in full force once again. And in spite of the asburdly high interest rates for buyers financing their purchases and the extremely high asking prices that eager sellers are setting, the Real Estate market is pressing hard into the Spring. Right now in Fairfield County there is very little inventory and some days not a single new listing will appear in a town. Greenwich, Darien and New Canaan have as little as two months inventory and in several price points there are just one or three available homes priced within a half million dollars of each other. 

                               Since Greenwich is closest to NYC the market there is in full demand, however there is more variety of residences and a much larger price span from a few hundred thousand dollars for a small Condo/Co op, $349,000 to $49,500,000 for a direct waterfront on Indian Field Road. The most expensive property sold in Greenwich last year was Copper Beech Farm, 50 acres on the water for $135,000,000. It shattered records for a Single Family home. Greenwich has so many different communities under the umbrella of the town name that there are broader options for buyers. And the town is quite spread out and can take nearly 30 minutes to drive from one end to the other. In effect Greenwich is comprised of several quaint villages linked and connected by the Merritt Parkway, I -95 and the Metro NY Train.

                               Darien saw the Town of Darien purchase Great Island for $85,000,000. to create a public park with access to water. Currently there is a $650,000 Condo under agreement and a proposed just relisted New Construction in the same waterfront community as Great Island, for $18,000,000. For the record, Darien has little inventory and is 94% built out so there is almost no opportunity for new open space. Now that Great Island is saved, although there will be housing lots devloped there, there is almost no other land to develop, assuring house prices will remain high to match demand. People will continue to tear down older, tired homes and rebuild them.

                               New Canaan does not hit the high numbers of Greenwich, proximity to NYC and four waterfront communities, or Darien with two desirable waterfront communities, but it holds it's own with fabulous schools and a quiet upscale village center. Right now the affordable homes start at just under $1,180,000 on up to just under $13,000,000 for a modern day Castle, close to the record price in the town. The $13 million house is on Michigan Road where I grew up and where the Stepford Wives movie was filmed with Nicole Kidman.

                                In spite of the very high demand for houses, buyers eager and willing to buy, the number of monthly sales is not what one would expect as there are not that many houses in Inventory.  If the asking prices are close to a great deal, the homes fall into bidding wars. However, if the houses are priced at Market and Assessed value, they often sit, even for months and undergo price reductions before selling. What I read from that looking over all the sales in the past 6 months in these towns is that the market IS hot and the prices ARE UP but everyone is still looking for a bargain or a "deal". And the homes that are going into bidding wars are selling at above or absurdly above original asking price-as high as one million dollars over ask with an asking as low as $2,600,000.!!!!! You have to stick your pinky by your lip and say "ONE MILLION DOLLARS" in your best Austin Powers imitation because bidding wars that fevered are absurd!

                               If you are in the market to buy, get all your ducks in a row -get your pre approval letter and all your bank and financial documents boxed and ready to take to your mortgage broker. Do not purchase anything large like a car or new furniture or in my case, a horse! Be sure to get ready to compromise and buy with vision as there is no perfect property that has everything for everyone at first glance. If you see something you like, prepare your offer that day and have your agent submit it. Be sure not to low ball the offer too much unless you have a comp that proves it is priced wrongly and expect you still might go for an emotional roller coaster ride of a bidding war. Be sure you have a frank conversation with yourself and your Realtor as to what you expect, what you can compromise and what is your ceiling if you have to negotiate above your comfort Zone. 

                              Buckle up your seat belt if you are a buyer or seller in a busy Real Estate market. It is changeable, just like the weather. And the road is often bumpy like a dirt road in Spring, feeling the effects of the frost heaves of winter! Do not act too emotionally but ask yourself while you are negotiating if you will regret in the future not going the extra dollars to get that property. One of the hardest things as a Realtor is trying to counsel someone to go a tad higher and they do not and they lose the house and then you hear them talking about the regret at every house you show them thereafter! 

Also realize that every single week houses sell and houses list and the resulting sales and the current new competition changes the entire market and price and comparable values. Your Realtor can run a CMA on your selling home bi weekly to see if the value has gone up or down and the same can be done on a house you are considering to purchase. I just experienced this with a house I had listed 55 days ago. Several higher priced homes sold for several hundred thousand dollars less than asking, thus bringing down the comparative sales and the asking price of the house I am listing. Just like the weather, the real estate market is ever changeable and day to day.