If you love great food and a cool, elegant vibe, you will want to try out Il Pellicano!
We enjoyed a fabulous dinner there Saturday night The Funghi (with papperdelle, brandy cream, wild mushroom, and truffle oil) was to die for and we loved the trendy vibe. Host, Colton and server, Fallon were the best!
Great food, service, and scenery!
The scenery outside the windows is just as pleasing as the interior, with the full downtown green and gazebo in view, all the passers-by, and during the holiday season, all the festive downtown lighting.
If you are looking for a place to go this New Year’s Eve, they are offering a five-course meal and three seatings!
You will need a reservation.
Whenever you do decide to go, be sure to call ahead, because they are generally booked up well in advance.
If you would like the scoop on this and other area restaurants, (my take anyway), reach out below.
Did you ever think that grain-free, lectin-free/gluten-free, and nearly sugar-free (don’t tell your guests!) cookies could taste like cinnamon donuts?
Well these Snickerdoodles do just that! To put icing on the cake, so to speak, this recipe is super easy too. The most time consuming part is simply putting the cookie dough on the baking sheet.
Full disclosure: To give them a festive look for the holidays, I did roll them in gold sugar sprinkles along with the cinnamon. The photo also shows some green sprinkles, but I recommend using only the gold ones, if any. Another note, is that you can also substitute the butter for clarified butter, known as ghee, and some coconut oil. Ghee has had the lactose removed, and some brands are from grass-fed cows.
As the year comes to a close and the holidays approach, it feels more important than ever to give back and support those less fortunate.
This November began with attending Rooms with a View in Southport in which professional and up and coming designers create stunning mini-rooms for visitors to view. Many of the furnishings are available for purchase by area merchants. Ticket proceeds help to fund 18 local and regional charities for a wide array of community needs.
Near and Far Aid raises funds to support strong communities and help prevent poverty and homelessness in Fairfield County. The largest fundraising event is the upcoming Spring Gala at Mitchells in Westport on April 28, 2023. The kick-off meeting for volunteers began in November with a festive start hosted at The Post at 1799 Post Road in Westport.
If you would like to find out how to get involved with one of these organizations or you would like to talk about your moving plans in the coming year, reach out below!
What’s going on in our local Connecticut housing markets as 2022 comes to a close? What’s UP, what’s DOWN? Join me in following this weekly update of what happens in Fairfield and Westport, and you will know first hand!
FAIRFIELD Single-Family
Nov 28 – Dec 4
Dec 5 – 11
Dec 12 – 18
Dec 19 – 25
Dec 26 – Jan 2
NEW
6
REDUCED
2
ACCEPTED OFFERS
3
SOLD
17
AVG % OF ASK
99%
YTD MEDIAN SALE PRICE
$820,000
WESTPORT Single-Family
Nov 28 – Dec 4
Dec 5 – 11
Dec 12 – 18
Dec 19 – 25
Dec 26 – Jan 2
NEW
5
REDUCED
6
ACCEPTED OFFERS
2
SOLD
7
AVG % OF ASK
98%
YTD MEDIAN SALE PRICE
$2,011,000
Source: SmartMLS
DID YOU KNOW that people move all year long and in every market?
Last year in November and December of 2021, 195 people successfully bought or sold a single-family home in Fairfield and Westport, and in 2019 there were 159 single-family sales during these two months. So you shouldn’t feel like you have to wait around for spring if you want to be in your ideal home now.
The best time to sell is when the timing matches your life goals. You can absolutely do it any time of year and in any market!
If you’re feeling concerned about the market conditions but wish you could move on to the home that truly matches your needs and lifestyle, reach out to me now, and let’s have a conversation.
Click image to view the digital magazine market update for what happened in November.
Here are your William Raveis local housing data charts for Westport. Visit the menu icon in the upper left of the page to search another town and check out more insights including the forecasting tool!
You deserve the home 🏡 that matches your lifestyle and needs.
Our fabulous communities are what draw people to our towns from near and far and what keeps people here sticking around and moving locally. That’s why I like to help support our local communities.
This week I met with Fairfield’s new Conservation Director, Tim Bishop to talk about how I can help homeowners in town learn how to protect our precious wetlands. Tim is an excellent resource for our town and truly wants to collaborate with homeowners to help them get their home improvements done while protecting our fragile natural resource, the inland wetland areas.
Most people are not aware of the importance of protecting wetlands and that doing so is critical to controlling flooding and stormwater run-off, maintaining our water quality, and preserving natural ecosystems that need still (vs. flowing) water to breed and live. Healthy wetland areas hold onto water which enables a natural cleaning process to occur and provides the environment necessary for wildlife, while controlling flooding. Many people don’t know they have wetland areas on their property. They don’t realize that their actions may be permanently destroying this critical natural resource, and they don’t realize that what they do in their yard impacts other people. So I will be working with Tim and others from the Greater Fairfield Board of Realtors on a plan to get the word out!
After meeting with Tim Bishop, I went to Bridgeport and helped to assemble 600 meal bags in preparation for Thanksgiving. This was part of a larger program to support 7,000 families.
The next day, it was time to vote!
And last, but not least, I launched a new Weekly Housing Update to enable you to track the market on a weekly basis and see what’s going on in Fairfield and Westport. You can find the Weekly Update here on the blog.
If you are thinking of making a move within one of our fabulous communities, within the next 12 months, now is the time to reach out to me so we can proactively put your plan in motion.
Let’s face it, most of us do not have “vision” when it comes to imaging another home as our own. As a home buyer, you appreciate seeing a potential home that’s gets you excited and makes your heart pound, right?
As a home seller you want to put your best foot forward to help your buyers view your house at the absolute top value you feel it’s worth, right?
It’s emotional!
I can list the statistics from the National Association of Realtors and other organizations that have documented the value of home staging because it has resulted in homes selling for the highest possible price in the least amount of time. I know you’ve seen the data. But what is it about staging that makes the difference? It’s emotional! And people make real decisions based on emotion. (There are studies documenting this point as well.)
When you approach the house and when you walk in, you feel an instant WOW! The feeling is fresh, clean, light and bright. Something about the space draws you in. You notice the fabulous views, elegant fireplace, perfect lighting, spacious rooms, and seamless flow! You are not distracted by personal photos and belongings, evidence of pets, extreme wall colors, oppressive and excessive furnishings or other obstructions. You simply feel an easy flow and a fabulous vibe, maybe even some passion!
Browse the photos above, and see how you feel!
Here’s what one of my clients had to say,
The suggestion of “staging” was something I hadn’t thought of, but after being introduced to the idea, I went with it and was amazed by the change it brought to my home. It was magnificent!!!
Browse through some of the before and after photos by clicking the image above, and see how you feel!
Reach out to me below with comments or questions about your plans. Want a quick estimate of your home’s value in the current market? Click here.
What’s really going on in our local Connecticut housing markets? Does it all boil down to supply and demand? Join me in following this weekly update of what happens in Fairfield and Westport, and you will know first hand! (Click each image below to view a quick Reel on Instagram.)
FAIRFIELD Single-Family
Oct 17 – 23
Oct 24 – 30
Oct 31 – Nov 6
Nov 7 – 13
Nov 14 – 20
Nov 21 – 27
NEW
14
14
8
8
8
1
REDUCED
11
12
7
11
7
2
ACCEPTED OFFERS
11
11
9
9
6
12
SOLD
22
9
13
6
9
9
AVG % OF ASK
98%
97%
98%
97%
98%
97%
YTD MEDIAN SALE PRICE
$810,000
$810,000
$820,000
$817,000
$815,000
$815,000
WESTPORT Single-Family
Oct 17 – 23
Oct 24 – 30
Oct 31 – Nov 6
Nov 7 – 13
Nov 14 – 20
Nov 21 – 27
NEW
8
9
15
6
5
1
REDUCED
4
5
3
5
4
1
ACCEPTED OFFERS
4
6
4
2
7
2
SOLD
3
5
8
1
6
4
AVG % OF ASK
98%
94%
96%
95%
98%
99%
YTD MEDIAN SALE PRICE
$2,050,000
$2,032,500
$2,050,000
$2,050,000
$2,050,000
$2,015,000
Source: SmartMLS
Nov 28: No one made a move in the middle of Thanksgiving and Black Friday, right? Actually they did! 27 happy parties made a big move with 14 accepted offers and 13 sold homes last week! Sale prices averaged 97% in Fairfield and 99% in Westport, so homes are selling close to asking price. Take a look at my quick video update.
Nov 21: Nothing happening the week before Thanksgiving, right..?
Observations: There was actually an UPTICK in accepted offers last week! The median sale price has been pretty steady in both towns in the last five weeks. It’s actually UP a bit in Fairfield from five weeks ago. Sale prices have been averaging 98% of asking, which is what we typically see in strong markets. New listings have been trickling in though.
So my takeaway is that we need more new listings!
DID YOU KNOW that people move all year long?
Last year, in November and December 2021, 195 people successfully bought or sold a single-family home in Fairfield and Westport, and in 2019 there were 159 single-family sales. So you shouldn’t feel like you have to wait around for spring if you want to be in your ideal home now.
The best time to sell is when the timing matches your life goals. You can absolutely do it any time of year and in any market!
If you’re feeling concerned about the market conditions but wish you could move on to the home that truly matches your needs and lifestyle, reach out to me now, and let’s have a conversation.
Oct 13: Observations: The biggest things that jump out at me right now are the price reductions and the ratio of the sale price to the asking price.
We saw ZERO price reductions for quite some time, but in the last four weeks we saw some. I still think these happened when sellers priced too optimistically versus pricing conservatively with comparable sales in the current market.
At the height of the frenzy, the sale/list ratio ran between 103% to 105%. In the last four weeks this ratio moved to the 95%-97% range which is closer to what we see in a more balanced market. Buyers had some opportunity to negotiate again in some cases. However, keep in mind there were still multiple offers and sales at and above the asking price as well.
The median sale price has been fairly consistent in both towns over the last four weeks.
The final result was better than she had ever imagined, but it took some serious soul searching, intense preparation, and full collaboration with her agent.
For years after she retired from her career as a flight attendant, Linda wanted to be with her friends who purchased homes in Florida and frequently traveled together from there. However, the responsibility of being the sole caretaker of her now 97-year old mom, Dolly required her to stay-put. Her family lived in upstate New York where her mother also owned a home. So the interim plan was to move back with Dolly to her New York house where her family could help with her care.
Preparation started by meeting with her agent to create a plan, and then it was time to start packing up her house.
Once she decided to sell, the job of emptying the home she had lived in since 1995 began. There are services to help a homeowner clear out their house quickly and easily, but Linda (Linda L, not me!) wanted to dig into this process herself.
William Raveis offers Raveis Refresh, a service that removes the homeowner’s burden of preparing the home for sale, and there’s no out of pocket expense to the seller until the closing.
But Linda felt the need to go through everything in the house and give away as much as she could. She accomplished this the old fashioned way, through networking and many trips to Goodwill! I believe that this process was also important for Linda because it was part of the emotional transition. It was not easy to leave the neighborhood she loved for so many years.
Part of our plan was to meet with a stager and determine the strategy for how to present the house to get the most money out of it.
We were all in agreement that the darkish yellow walls did not support the beachy vibe we wanted to go for in the beach area. Even the white ceilings needed refreshing after so many years since being painted. Several light fixtures from another era needed to be replaced and the exterior needed some touching up as part of the freshness strategy. And because Linda planned to get rid of almost everything in the house, the rooms needed furnishing. It was hard, even for us, to visualize the transformation that was soon to take place.
As Linda emptied the house, she gained momentum.
Linda called contractors to have deferred maintenance items attended to and had anything that was broken fixed. Gradually, she got rid of everything and made some key improvements like replacing the wood deck with new maintenance-free composite, installing some new appliances in the kitchen, and swapping out several light fixtures.
Fresh paint in the right shade yields the highest ROI. Staging creates the magic.
Then the painting began, and as the rooms became white, the natural light was reflected and uncovered a beautiful etherial feel that was dormant before. Even the basement got a paint refresh! With the home now a glow, it was time for the stagers to add the final magic. In one afternoon, they had the living room, dining room, study, and two bedrooms beautifully furnished, and the whole house accessorized. Linda’s house went from cluttered, dim, and tired, to light, bright, and magazine worthy! When she returned after leaving the house to the stagers, she could not believe it was the same house! She had the same reaction as the buyers who came to see it! Excitement!
The plan, effort, and collaboration paid off!
The house went on the market on a Thursday morning in time for the broker tour. Many agents came through with positive feedback. A number of agent showings took place from Thursday through the weekend. The showings in combination with a Saturday and Sunday open house brought 56 people through in four days! Multiple offers were received above the asking price, and by Monday, the new homeowner was on board!
If you would like to discuss your dream of the home that matches your needs and lifestyle, reach out to me below. If you’re curious what your home is worth in this market and would like an instant estimate, click here. Not ready yet? Keep an eye on the market with the monthly WHAT SOLD reports and Weekly Updates on the blog!
Click image to view sponsor slide show that played on the big screen(s) all night!
The William Raveis Southport office committee that worked together to create and implement our first Music 4 A Cure event at the Warehouse at Fairfield Theater Company could not have been more pleased at the huge turnout and fabulous good time everyone had! We were thrilled at the outpouring of support from sponsors, donations, raffle prize contributions and participants at the event.
A big thank you to our sponsors and contributors! Browse the slideshow that played all night!
Click image to view instagram reel!Click image for photo gallery from the evening!
The donations are still rolling in, but at the time of this post, the event raised more than $35,000 for the William Raveis Charitable fund supporting Damon Runyon and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in the innovative research for a cure for cancer! We are so proud of the wonderful contribution we were all able to make for this important cause.
We look forward to seeing you again next year! For questions or more information, send a note below.
Fairfield and Westport CT Real Estate Guide 