Fairfield and Westport CT Real Estate Guide

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

Tag Archives: Linda Raymond


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Price is What You Pay. Value Is What You Get. -Warren Buffet

Did you know there 35 points of negotiation in a Fairfield real estate sale? These terms can go your way…or not.

As a home buyer, you likely feel it’s a challenge to find a home in this market. As home seller, you may find it daunting to prepare your home for the market and you want to ensure your home is priced, presented, and marketed strategically so that you get the highest return and the best terms. Your trusted agent will help you accomplish both monumental endeavors.

Yet the process from contract to close can be the most challenging and vulnerable phase of your transaction.

Your agent must navigate and negotiate all the details and variables, both the anticipated and the unexpected, when working toward your successful sale.

There are 35 points of negotiation!

  1. Price
  2. Proof of funds, pre-approval
  3. Timeline
  4. Possession
  5. Occupancy
  6. Deposit money
  7. Appraisal
  8. Financing
  9. Contingencies
  10. Deadlines
  11. Inspections
  12. Repairs, remediation, or credits
  13. Closing agency
  14. Closing costs
  15. Title search results
  16. Survey
  17. Permits
  18. Property lines
  19. Fences, trees, sheds
  20. Easements, wetlands
  21. Elevation certificate, elevation
  22. Personal property
  23. Insurance, property, flood
  24. Home warranty
  25. Other warranties- roof, mechanicals, builder
  26. Water systems
  27. Septic or sewer systems
  28. Utilities
  29. Prorations- oil, water, taxes
  30. System or service leases- solar, water heaters, pest treatment
  31. Assessments
  32. Associations
  33. Property disclosures
  34. Walk-through
  35. Closing!

There are many things that can go your way or not in your Fairfield real estate sale! You don’t want to pay the price without getting the value. With more 80 online testimonials and over $73M in sales, rest assured I will work tirelessly for your successful move just as I have done for all my other clients. Reach out to me today, and let’s discuss your plans.

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Unlocking Your Dream Home: Secure Mortgage Pre-Approval Before Closing on Your Sale!

Photo of Linda leaving Jorge's office with great news!

Finally, the home you love just came on the market and you want to buy it.

But your existing house won’t be closing in time for you to make a competitive offer. In this market of tight inventory you need to be able to act quickly and come in with a complete and solid offer for the new home that you want to buy.

Did you know you can secure your mortgage pre-approval before you close on the sale of your home? Here’s a great tip you should know about!

View 60-second Instagram Reel or Take a look at the video.

If your dept-to-income ratio doesn’t allow for you to carry two houses, but you have an accepted offer for the sale of your house, this could be good news for you!

  1. Have your downpayment ready.
  2. Get the contingency-free loan commitment letter from the buyers for your house.

If the buyer for your house is financing and will give you their contingency-free loan commitment letter, you may be able to get your mortgage pre-approval to buy before you close on your sale.

With your buyer’s contingent-free loan commitment letter, your lender does not have to include your existing mortgage debt when figuring your debt-to-income ratio for your new loan. All you need is your down payment, and you are good to go.

Visit Linda and Jorge for more info!

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Are Home Values Falling? January 2023 Report, Fairfield & Westport CT

It’s January 2023 and you are wondering, are home values falling? As a potential home buyer or home seller, you want to know where the values of your Fairfield County house are now and where they are likely heading.

I will keep you abreast of Fairfield County house values in Fairfield and Westport each month here on the blog. Reach out to me for values in additional towns.

Below is a comparison chart for each town showing the year-to-date change and an estimated forecast to address the question, “are home prices falling”.

As you can see, we are still in a seller’s market. Home values are up 12-25% in Fairfield and Westport at the end of 2022 compared to 2021. Inventory and new listings are down, and market time is down year over year.

Yet, in favor of buyers, unit sales and contracts are also down. And months of supply was up in December in both towns (data not shown). So this offers some opportunity for buyers to possibly have a little more time, choice and negotiating ability in the coming year. This leverage is on a case by case basis though. Due to the tight inventory, many homes are still selling very quickly and some still with multiple offers. So buyers should be prepared with a mortgage pre-approval or proof of funds so they can make an offer quickly if they see a home that they like.


On a national note, the experts have not projected home prices falling in 2023. They expect to see prices remain relatively flat followed by continued appreciation beginning in 2024. So more equity should be there for the taking for home buyers this year!


Reach out to me anytime with your questions about the market and to talk about your plans.

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Local Housing Data Plus Forecasting Tool: November 2022

Below is November’s Local Housing Data for Westport, CT. Click the image to open the interactive report.

With the report open, use the menu in the upper left to search different towns and pull up more reports…like the Market Forecast tool! This is a screenshot of the expanded menu view:


Reach out to me anytime with questions about the market and your plans.

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Sold Over Ask in Under a Month

Click image for Instagram Reel!

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!

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Real Estate News – What Sold in September 2022: Fairfield & Westport CT

September 2022 housing numbers are in! How does September compare to the prior month, is there a slow down, and WHAT SOLD?? Curious what your home is worth?

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, September unit sales were down by 25 from August. The ratio of sale price compared to the list price was down two percent since August. The median sale price was also down, but the median days on market was the same.

In Westport, unit sales were down by 14 from the prior month. Sale price-to-list-price ratios averaged two percent lower than in August. The market time was up by 4 days compared to August.

Comparing September vs August,

Both towns saw fewer sales and sale prices closer to the asking price in September compared to August. The median sale price was lower in Fairfield and higher in Westport in September vs August. Market time was unchanged in Fairfield and longer in Westport.

Comparing September 2022 vs 2021,

Comparing September year over year, unit sales were down in both towns this year. The median sale price is still up from 2021. Market time was down in Fairfield and a few days longer in Westport.

Quick scoop on market status

FAIRFIELD – September 2022 vs August

Single-Family Homes

Units Sold: DOWN, 55 (vs 80)

Median Sale Price: DOWN, $853,000 (vs $908,000)

Average Sale vs. Asking Price: DOWN, 101% (vs 103%)

Median Days on Market: SAME 32 (vs 32)

Fairfield 2022 vs 2021

Units Sold: DOWN 27% (55 vs 75)

Median Sale Price: UP 4% ($853,275 vs. $820,000)

Days on Market: DOWN 25% (30 vs. 40)

WESTPORT – September 2022 vs. August

Single Family

Units Sold: DOWN, 34 (vs 48)

Median Sale Price: UP, $2,002,500 (vs $1,949,500)

Average Sale vs. Asking Price: DOWN, 101% (vs. 102%)

Median Days on Market: UP, 39 (vs 35)

Westport 2021 vs 2022

Units Sold: DOWN 17% (35 vs 42)

Median Sale Price: UP 41% ($2,080,000 vs $1,475,000)

Days on Market: UP 12% (37 vs 33)

Wondering if now’s a good time to make a move?

Curious what your home is worth?

You may also be wondering if prices will be coming down and if you should make a move now. 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.

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#RealEstateMarketJuly2022 #HousingPrices #HomeValues #HomeAppreciation #HomeBuying #HomeSelling #FairfieldCTRealEstate #WestportCTRealEstate #WilliamRaveisRealEstate #YourCastleMyMission #LindaRaymondRealEstate


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Love Your Neighbors!

We all showed up in the neighborhood at different times. We each arrived during the appropriate chapter for our individual story lines. As usual, we each had our own priorities, pursuits, and interests.

Our dear neighbor, Linda, (pictured above center with the orange lei), has lived on our street since 1995. She has seen many neighbors come and go.

If there ever was a perfect neighborhood role model, Linda would be it!

She knew everyone, and we all knew her. Not only did she know everyone, she pretty much knew the back story of each neighbor’s entire family tree including their pets!

Whenever she saw you, she would ask how you were doing, how your children were doing, your mother, brother, your pets. She genuinely cared and wanted to know. In the winter time, she would march right to your door with a shovel and begin a conversation while clearing your front porch of snow. If anyone needed the name of a contractor or a cup of sugar, Linda was our go-to.

And as a bonus to her model behavior, Linda was not shy about going the distance during our summer block parties with spirited festivities that lasted well into the night. 🙂

But when Linda decided to move away to be closer to her family and friends, it became very clear how meaningful she had been to the fabric of our neighborhood.

I went door to door to invite each neighbor to a surprise party for Linda. Everyone had the same reaction. They expressed loss at the thought of her leaving, well wishes for her next chapter, and a sincere desire to send her off with good spirit and a proper celebration. So we had a lovely gathering for Linda, which helped to bring us all a little closer together too.

It truly made me feel the impact of having a great neighborhood.

When you feel connected to those around you, it gives a sense of comfort, support, positive energy, and a feeling of belonging. In fact, this is why National Neighborhood Day was created! The mission is to inspire the fostering of neighborhood relationships that in turn build stronger and more caring and effective communities. The dedicated website says, “Communities work better ( students perform better, crime rates are lower, kids are safer, people live longer) when neighbors know one another better. Knowing your neighbor on a first-name basis, as National Neighborhood Day suggests, is a surprisingly effective first step toward a better America.”

Loving your neighbors sure makes a lot of sense, right?!

I hope this post inspires you to be a good neighbor and love your neighbors, even if they don’t live right on your street. This will make you feel more at home and do your part to help build a culture of kindness and acceptance that will enhance our communities in the future for generations to come! In fact, you can start here and now by taking the Good Neighbor Pledge!

If you are ready to join a new neighborhood, send a note below so that we can discuss your plans!

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Charmer on Charles, See It Before It’s Gone!

Click image to view tour

This charming home at 55 Charles Street in Fairfield, Connecticut may soon be spoken for, so take a tour before it’s gone! Curious what your home is worth in the current market?

If you’re feeling uncertain about how to make a move, here are four tips on how to get more clarity.

Reach out to me with questions, or to discuss your moving plans.

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Is it Time for You to Fall in Love?

Click to view Instagram Reel!

🙌 Fairfield Beach area: walk to town, train & beach

🙌 Peaceful & vibrant side street

🙌 Beautiful landscaping

🙌 Natural gas, forced air heat, city water/sewer

🙌 3 Bedrooms, 2 full baths (1 per floor), main floor laundry, eat-in kitchen, front to back living room & dining area with fireplace, study

🙌 Covered deck with ceiling fan

🙌 Attic and full basement with sink for storage, gardening, 🪴 etc.

🙌 New exterior & interior paint, plus numerous new improvements

🙌 Garage

Is it time for you to fall 🍁 in love 🏡 ?

Message me below for more info! Curious what your home is worth?

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#LindaRaymondRealtor #FairfieldCTRealEstate #WestportCTRealEstate #FairfieldCountyRealEstate #WilliamRaveis #WilliamRaveisCT #WilliamRaveisSouthport #fairfieldctrealtors #southportctrealtors #WestportCTrealtors


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Charmer in Favorite Location!

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!

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