Fairfield and Westport CT Real Estate Guide

Local insights on buying, selling, and living in Fairfield County

Category Archives: Market Updates

Market reports, Beach Bulletin


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Fantastic Fairfield Fireworks & A Housing Market Update

What a fantastic evening for the Fairfield fireworks last night!

After attending a picnic with some fine company and delicious dining, my husband and I visited more friends on the beach for the remainder of the evening. Low tide provided extra space on the sand bars this year for added festivities and some pre-show fireworks. As the warm pastel sunlight faded to dusk, the bejeweled horizon of sparkling lights from boats and waterfront homes became the new feature.

Once darkness fell, the DJ from the party next door created the perfect moment when he sang his own blues-inspired rendition of America the Beautiful just as the spectacular fireworks display was launched from the barge off Jennings Beach. Ah, there’s nothing like the Fourth of July in Fairfield!

Of course we’re all back to work now, so let me provide an update on the housing market for you – As of today, we have 491 single-family homes and 85 condos for sale in Fairfield, down from the count in my last post on June 22. However, there has been a jump since then in the number of binders and contracts, which is a positive sign.

One of the metrics I like to watch as a leading indicator of what’s to come is the percentage of active listings with a binder. A little over a week ago, 10% of the homes for sale had an accepted offer. At the time of this post, there are 70 homes with a binder equating to 14% of the available homes. Considering that the ratio had been 12-13% this spring in March through May, this is quite encouraging! The number of contracts is currently 133, also up from 105 a little more than a week ago.

Three more homes have sold since I last wrote, ranging in price from $450,000 to $875,000. The tally of sold homes in June recorded as of today is 23, with an average sale price of $600,000. Although there are sure to be more June sales recorded in the next few weeks, we are still quite far off from the single-family sales in June 2010 which totaled 71 with an average sale price of $658,000.

Okay, so who is ready to jump into the market to buy and sell, and catapult our numbers for July?!

Fairfield Boaters july 4 2011 Fairfield Beach & Barge July 4 2011

Originally Posted on Fairfield Patch  July 5, 2011 at 5:38 pm

 


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3 Cool Tips & Your Fairfield Housing Market Update

Well I was away in the Cayman Islands last week for the first vacation alone with my husband in 10 years since our daughter was born!  (She was at sleep-away camp.)  Now that I’m back, I have three random bits of advice to offer that you may find useful:

1) My GasBuddy.com App tells me that the cheapest gas can currently be found at The Sunoco Station at 322 Post Rd East in Westport for $3.969 per gallon and Gulf at 975 Kings Highway East and Chambers in Fairfield for $3.979 per gallon.   GAS LADY

2) Remember to register your child for the fall soccer season at the Fairfield Recreation Center before the end of July to ensure a spot on the their team from last year.  And last but not least,

3) I would highly recommend Zumba on Thursday morning at 11:30 with John L. and Monday and Tuesday nights with Kellie B. at 8pm at the Edge in Fairfield. It’s a great workout mixed into an entertaining fiesta with men and women of all shapes and sizes!

ZUMBA LADY

Finally, a word on the market-  We currently have 503 single family homes for sale in Fairfield.  This inventory level has held steady since May but is lower than the May – July levels in both 2010 and 2009 which had ranged from about 580 to 515 homes for sale.

The end of the second quarter resulted in 149 sales with an average sale price of $663,000 and a median of $565,000.  In the same timeframe of 2010 we saw 220 sales with an average sale price of $734,000 and a median of $569,000.  Last year’s average sale price was artificially inflated by a six million dollar sale on Harbor Road, but the median was very close to what we have seen this year.  The number of sales dipped 32% though.  This may become a less extreme difference as more June sales are recorded.

As the summer heats up and people take vacations, the housing market typically slows down.  Binders and contracts are both down since my July 5th post.  The tally of single family homes with an accepted offer (binder) is 34 today which equates to seven percent of the active listings. This is down from 14% at the time of my last post.  There are 84 homes with purchase contracts in place which is also down from 133 a couple of weeks ago.  On a positive note, the price of homes under contract ranges from $140,000 all the way up to $5,500,000 demonstrating that there is something for everyone here in town!   SOLD PIC

So after all your summer travels are over, remember to focus on housing again, and re-energize your buying and selling agendas!

Originally Posted on Fairfield Patch  July 25, 2011 at 12:03 am