About Fairfield County, CT

Professional Women of Connecticut Networking Event: Public Relations Meets Social Media - The intersection between PR & Social Media in 2012

February 27th
6-9pm
Join us for a great night of networking and education!

Guest Speaker: Kris Ruby of Ruby Media Group

In today's fast paced media environment, Public Relations and Social Media must go hand in hand. In this interactive workshop, Kris Ruby of Public Relations Agency Ruby Media Group will discuss how social media and public relations fits into your overall media budget. Media planning and buying, traditional advertising vs. Facebook advertising, Social Media vs. Public Relations, will all be covered. By the end of the workshop, you will have a better understanding of where to best allocate your marketing dollars in 2012 to get the highest response rate.

Norwalk Inn
99 East Ave
Norwalk, CT

$35 pp includes dinner and dessert. Cash Bar
Register online: www.professionalwomenofconnecticut.com

This is a wonderful opportunity for networking and learning with a great bunch of entreprenuerial women. I hope you can make it. Kris Ruby is the founder of her own business. She is a dynamic speaker and business woman and is she is Under 30. I love supporting other local woman owned businesses and this one is a gem (no pun intended).

First and foremost, I want to thank all of my clients for helping make 2011 a great year. I closed on 20 houses (13 sales, 7 rentals) in 2011, which was is my best year so far and owe it all to my wonderful clients. I enjoyed working with everyone and appreciate the business. I also want to thank the many people who referred business to me. The referral business is a huge part of my pipeline and I am grateful for every lead sent to me.

Looking back on 2011, I am pleased to say that the Greenwich Real Estate market held up well. I am not going to sugarcoat it and tell you that it was a banner year and that I only see signs of the market improving from here on out. When viewed from a macro-level, 2011 was still a very slow year. We did not see the level of transactions that we had a couple years ago and we might never again. As I mentioned in a previous blog/email, I think we might be witnessing the beginning of the new “normal” in real estate movement.

In Greenwich, CT, I feel that the baseline level of transactions should be roughly around 625 houses sold per year. This is not the 750+ that we saw in 2007, but also higher than what we have witnessed in the past two years. I am a strong believer that we are bouncing along the floor of our pricing, but also admit that I do not know when we will start to see price increases. I am confident in recommending a purchase (for investment purposes) with a 5+ year horizon, but have a hard time confidently supporting shorter horizons. I see several factors that continue to affect the Greenwich (as well as national) market and keep it from a proper level of equilibrium/harmony.

Obviously the biggest factor keeping the Greenwich CT Real Estate market out of sync is the questionable economy. As discussed in several previous blogs, residential real estate is almost entirely priced upon perception, so if anything were to affect perception and confidence the residential real estate market takes a hit. Certain areas of residential real estate are hit harder than others. For one, the second home market has been hit much harder than the primary home market. This is obviously because those who need money will unload their vacation homes before their primary residence’s. Another factor that we are starting to see is that second and third tier markets are taking a harder hit than first tier markets as those who have money are starting to realize they can afford to upgrade to the better location (flight to quality). Greenwich is fortunately on the right side of the trade for both of these factors.

I have worked with a lot of clients recently who have said they want to buy in Greenwich because of the low taxes (about 1/3^rd of NY taxes), which is normal, but now I hear more and more clients say that they think they can afford to live in better neighborhoods than they used to look at because the prices have come down. You used to need well north of $1,000,000 to buy a decent first home in Greenwich, but now you can find some great single families in the $700k range, especially in areas of Cos Cob and North Mianus, and you can find apartments in the $200-$300k range all through town.

This doesn’t mean that all levels of real estate in Greenwich are lowering dramatically in price, it just means that there are many affordable areas of town. On the high-end we have still seen some major trades and there are some fantastic homes on the market right now in the $10 to $20m range, which once commanded prices starting with a “3” or even “4”.

I find myself fortunate to work in a town with such diversity in product. Covering over 65 square miles and housing a population of over 60,000 people, Greenwich has a lot to offer. I really consider it 4 neighboring towns that include Old Greenwich, Riverside, Cos Cob and downtown Greenwich, but within those towns we have several communities including Glenville, Byram, North Mianus and Pemberwick to name a few. I’ve been able to work $1,500 rentals and $23 million estate sales, which is what I find to be so much fun about the job.

If you know of anyone who is looking at the Greenwich (or Rye, I closed on 4 houses in Rye last year!) area and are in need of some help, I’d really appreciate it if you pass on my name.

Sincerely,

Scott

Scott Elwell
Real Estate Agent – MBA- GreenwichCT.com
William Raveis Real Estate
45 Field Point Road, Greenwich, CT 06830
Mobile: 203.940.0444 : Email: scott@elwell.com

Monroe CT Real Estate Market Report January 2012

Monroe CT real estate sales for January 2012 took a bit of a dip from the same period last year. However, list and sales prices both increased 2%. The median decreased 8%. Days on the market significantly increased with three of the properties being on the market 200+ days.

Which houses sold in Monroe CT in January 2012?

Monroe CT January 2012 Property Transfers
(as recorded in the Greater Fairfield County MLS as of 2/15/12)

The absorption trend, which shows the number of months it would take to sell the entire inventory at the same pace, came in at 11.39 for the last three months.

Keep in mind that this rate is for ALL houses. If you are selling your home, your agent should calculate the absorption rate trend for your price point to get a more accurate analysis.

Moving forward into February sales, there are 12 houses under deposit and 13 homes under contract.

SEARCH for Your New Home in Monroe, CT

Remember, each month is a snapshot of the month including all sales. Individual price ranges and results will vary which will determine a correct listing price or amount to offer on a purchase.

If you would like a FREE professional market analysis done for your property in Monroe CT, please contact me.

The success in selling your house in Monroe CT or any other community is dependent upon accurate pricing, effective preparation, calculating the absorption rate for your particular price point, and having a strong online marketing presence. A house will sell if there is a synergy among all four.

CONTACT ME for advice on how to LIST, MARKET, and SELL your home effectively in today's market. All agents do not provide the same marketing services.

Date Source: Greater Fairfield County Multiple Listing Service -- February 15, 2012. No representation or warranty is made to the accuracy of this information.

Monroe CT Real Estate Market Report January 2012

Wilton CT 06897, Average Sold Price vs Average List Price and Total Sales 2005-2011

As you can see from the chart above, the real estate sales for Wilton CT did fall off for the years of 2008 through 2012. The saving grace for yearly sales for 2010 was the buyers' credits that were being given in the first half of the year.

In spite of Hurricane Irene and the heavy huge snow storm of the fall, Wilton did seem to hold its own with the real estate sales.

Wilton CT 06897, Average Sold Price vs Average List Price and Total Sales 2005-2011

Westport CT, Average Sold Price vs Average List Price and Total Sales 2005-2011

Norwalk CT, Average Sold Price vs Average List Price and Total Sales 2005-2011

Weston CT, Average Sold Price vs Average List Price and Total Sales 2005-2011

Fairfield CT, Average Sold Price vs Average List Price and Total Sales 2005-2011

Redding CT 06896, Average Sold Price vs Average List Price and Total Sales 2005-2011

Ridgefield CT 06877, Average Sold Price vs Average List Price and Total Sales 2005-2011

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Westport CT, Average Sold Price vs Average List Price and Total Sales 2005-2011

As you can see from the chart above, the real estate sales for Westport CT did fall off for the years of 2008 through 2012. The saving grace for yearly sales for 2010 was the buyers' credits that were being given in the first half of the year.

January sales this year were very strong, unlike the rest of the county, which suffered with lower sales due to the damage from the Hurricane and the heavy early snow storm.

Wilton CT 06897, Average Sold Price vs Average List Price and Total Sales 2005-2011

Westport CT, Average Sold Price vs Average List Price and Total Sales 2005-2011

Norwalk CT, Average Sold Price vs Average List Price and Total Sales 2005-2011

Weston CT, Average Sold Price vs Average List Price and Total Sales 2005-2011

Fairfield CT, Average Sold Price vs Average List Price and Total Sales 2005-2011

Redding CT 06896, Average Sold Price vs Average List Price and Total Sales 2005-2011

Ridgefield CT 06877, Average Sold Price vs Average List Price and Total Sales 2005-2011

View Larger Map