I wanted to let you know about an amazing opportunity coming to the market next week!
This home enjoys a prized location on a peaceful yet vibrant Fairfield Connecticut side street that’s walking distance to the town, train, and beach. Featuring three bedrooms, two full baths, main floor laundry, natural gas, forced air heat, garage, covered back deck, stunning landscaping, and numerous new improvements, this is a home and lifestyle offering that are not to be missed!
Call or text for more information => 203-912-4440!
August 2022 housing numbers are in! How does August compare to the prior month, and WHAT SOLD??
Click image for Instagram Reel with Linda’s quick market update at the end of August!
Find out what happened in our local markets by downloading your free WHAT SOLD report with everything that sold in Fairfield and Westport in the previous month here. If you would like the report for another town, send me a request in the form below, and I will get it to you.
So, what are the numbers, Linda?
In Fairfield, unit sales and market time were down a bit from July. The average sale-to-list price ratio was down two percent since July. In Westport, unit sales were up by four from the prior month. Sale prices averaged 102% of the list price which was four percent lower than it was in July. The market time was up by 15 days compared to July. Homes were selling closer to the asking price in August in both towns compared to July.
For monthly charts showing more market parameters in your towns of interest, take a look at the Raveis Local Housing Data, and contact me to discuss the market and your plans.
If you’re thinking of making a move in the next 12 months or have any questions, call directly or send a note to Linda Raymond below.
Send a note below to ask about a move in one of our fabulous area beach towns like Fairfield and Westport! In the meantime, here’s the town guide to Living at Fairfield Beach!
Click image for Instagram Reel. Linda tells why people are being proactive and making moves now.
The August home ðĄ sales are in, and 147 buyers and sellers in Fairfield and Westport made a move to their happy place! They sold high ðĩ and bought before the projected continued price increases âïļâïļâïļ while also enjoying instant equity in their new homes!Â
What would you like to do?
I look forward to taking with you about your plans. In the meantime you can download my complimentary WHAT SOLD report at LindaRaymondRealEstate.com/Blog. Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!! ð
Waiting for a housing market crash before making a move to a new home? Curious what your home is worth? We have seen unprecedented times in the housing market for sure, but the experts forecast a surprising direction. The question is whether you plan to wait for a housing market crash or take some action!
Linda Raymond in StudioOne talks about waiting for a housing market crash
Click to view Instagram Reel! Linda & happy client who sold two condos in NY & bought a house in CT!
A new home would be great, but how do you get there?
Curious what your home is worth? If you’ve been thinking about the huge decision of making a move right now, you’re not alone, and I can relate to the challenges you and so many others are facing. You’re wondering how you can coordinate the timing between buying and selling, how you will find your new home, how you will be able to get your house ready for the market. And what about the shifting market trends and interest rates? Should you be waiting for a housing market crash?
It’s completely understandable to have concerns
Most people who decided to make a move had many of these worries when they started too. I went though a challenging home purchase myself before I was a Realtor. Believe me, I’ve been there! If you’re curious, you can see the story of my first home purchase as shared with the Fairfield Coastal Neighbors Magazine. The truth is that uncertainty is always going to be a reality, and we need to embrace that in order to move forward. It is impossible to time the market, but you can control your plans and goals. Here are four tips on how to get to your new home.
1: Focus on your why
If you’re thinking about selling your current home and buying a new one, you undoubtably have significant reasons that go far deeper just having a new house. Do you need more space and privacy to give yourself peace, focus, and privacy? Do you still work from home, or need to accommodate an extended family? Have your “little ones” gone off to college and now you want to scale down and invest your proceeds into other assets, or invest in the lifestyle your dreams? Maybe you’ve been dreaming about exciting travel plans! Do you need to be closer to your family? Closer to your job?
2. Commit to your quality of life
Once you are clear on your important reasons for making a change and that this is the ideal time for you to make this change, it is time to commit. It’s time to pursue this lifestyle that you yearn for and deserve. Once you commit in your heart and your mind that you want these changes for yourself and you want them now, everything else will fall into place!
3. Trust the process
When you talk through your dreams with your agent and explain your important why’s, they will have the resources and experience to guide you toward your destination. As I had mentioned during my interview with the Fairfield HamletHub, William Raveis has developed new tools to eliminate many of the roadblocks to being able to sell and move quickly in the current market. Here are some of my client’s stories. Kelly and Steve made the move from their childhood home after dreaming about it for years. Dave and Suzanne sold their home, then found their dream home, obtaining temporary housing and storage in the interim. Wolf and Marianna did some soul searching and then made the commitment to themselves to pursue their new lifestyle. They listed their house and got a contract on it while they shopped for their new one. They were able to coordinate their closings and step right into their new home and new beginning!
4. There’s no such thing as perfect, here’s how you don’t miss out!
People who have made a successful move have found the home that meets their top priority needs and wants. Once you’ve decided to move forward, the key is to find the new home that provides about eight out of 10 of your key wishlist items. These wishlist items should be tied to your most important reasons for moving, the ones that impact your quality of life. Be careful not to rule out homes due to things that can easily be changed over time, especially in a low-inventory market. Remember the real reasons you are pursuing this huge transition. If price is one of the items that extends beyond your wishlist, this would be the time to consult with your lender to see if extending your budget is realistic for you. Remember that home appreciation is forecast to continue for another five years at least, so you can gain equity right away. There is no such thing as a 100% perfect home. Believe it or not, even people who pay for a custom designed and built home find a list of things they would have done differently in retrospect. So use the 80% rule to zoom in on your key impact priorities so that you don’t miss out for the wrong reasons.
The rest is history
In my case, my husband and I had lost a few before landing what was ultimately our first choice. And, yep, we bought at the height of the market in 2004. But we never labored about the decision because it was a lifestyle choice, not a stock market trade or casino move. We have absolutely loved life here over the past 18 years! And as it turns out, our home has continued to grow in value. Our interest rate was higher, but we since refinanced. I then became a Realtor, and the rest is history…until we decide to move again to our next new home!
I have been working closely with people to help them meet their goals for decades, ever since my second job out of college in a sports medicine physical therapy center! From there, I evolved into corporate employee health and productivity which began with working one-on-one with employees and expanded to serve large corporate populations nationwide.
But I missed working directly with individuals and wanted to apply my business skills to a new industry. This sentiment happened to coincide with the purchase of my first house in Fairfield in 2004, and Iâve been serving my real estate clients ever since!
How many local businesses do you use to support your business (products and services) and can you name them?
There are so many different aspects to helping my clients transition from one home to another, so I need to depend on many other local businesses to get the job done! These businesses include attorneys like Sharon Jones and Jessica Gonzalez at Jones-Washburn-Gonzalez in Westport, appraisers, in particular Pat Labella, who has been a trusted resource for me when Iâve had questions along the way, inspectors, especially David Leopold of Pillar to Post, contractors such as Claudio Salvador at CNS Flooring, Marc G Andre Architects, and Snap-Estate photographers.
I have also utilized several local businesses for closing gifts, including Terrain in Westport and Auroraâs Cafe, and Beehive in Fairfield. For a fun after-work example of supporting small business, (in addition to all the local eateries I frequent), take a look at this fun Reel on Instagram.
Have you reimagined your small business?
Itâs more of continuous evolution to meet my client’s needs and strive to exceed their expectations than completely reimagining my business. Customer needs shift based on changes in their environment. So I try to be as creative and innovative as I can to best serve them.
The pandemic, of course, has had a huge impact on how most of us approach our work. Some of the changes I had made when we were locked down included property showings via Facebook video and listing meetings via Zoom. Instead of in-person open houses, I created very detailed walk-through videos of my listings to share online with prospective buyers. Some of these new processes still come in handy! I had also chosen from day-one to work for William Raveis Real Estate because it is a privately owned and family-run regional company that is a top-notch innovator.
They are ready to pivot to meet agent needs so that we are always empowered to be the most effective and the most competitive in the marketplace. For example, to meet the acute need to move quickly, that many people had, the company developed and implemented a suite of services that enables people to fast-track home improvements with no out-of-pocket expense, gain instant access to the equity in their homes, and make competitive cash offers when they would otherwise need to finance.
The ability and mindset to launch these creative solutions quickly to meet the demand are the beauty of the small customer-centric business.
Make no mistake though, we have powerful global reach with our elite Leading Real Estate Companies of the World network alliance! So continuous reimagining is the ongoing strategy I use along with my brokerage, mixed with a healthy dose of passion and creativity to provide the best solutions for our clients. This is the small business âsecret sauce’ that keeps our clients happy and coming back for more!
Fairfield and Westport CT Real Estate Guide 
