About Litchfield County, CT

In Connecticut, when selling a home you do not have to disclose that you have ... people living with you that don't pay rent, people who walk through walls, move things on you, wailing in the middle of the night, shaking the bed... in other words, ghosts. Nope, the seller doesn't have to disclose the fact their house is haunted, not here in Connecticut.

If a buyer is concerned that there is a ghost in residence they can write a letter to the seller asking if anyone other worldly beings live in the house. The seller is not required to answer the question. But the request must be in writing from the buyer to the seller. Not agent to agent, that's not how it works. I wouldn't answer that question anyway. I can see it now, being hauled into court because I told a buyer a house wasn't haunted... but when they moved in the house was akin to a certain house in Amityville, NY. Nope, not me.

If it is important for you to know, and you feel that perhaps the seller isn't being straight with you, you could ask permission to bring Ghost Busters in. (Don't do it without permission though, seriously.) Contacting former owners of the house is probably a bad idea. You know, the agent knows someone who grew up in the house.. so they call to find out if the house was haunted 35 years ago. What if the former resident says no, the house wasn't haunted back then, how can you be sure that is still the case? Short of contacting the dearly departed that used to live there to make sure they aren't living there now, you really only have one choice. You have to go directly to the owners. Keep in mind it is the owners right not to answer the question.

And for the curious, yes, someone I know got that call. "Hey, when you lived in that house as a kid, was it haunted?" I hope the buyer had a plan B, that's all I have to say!

Got ghosts? In Connecticut the only way to ask that question is in writing!

(And just to be clear, this post is not to make fun of anyone who believes in ghosts. I am fairly sure I have lived in a house with .... ghosts. It can happen to the best of us!)

The National Mortgage Settlement. Connecticut is slated to receive $190 million out of the $25 billion dollar joint federal state settlement agreement over foreclosure abuses, fraud and unacceptable mortgage servicing practices from the big 5. Bank of America, Citibank, JP Morgan Chase, GMAC and Wells Fargo.

According to Attorney General George Jepson, the money is slated to be used in the following manner.

• Connecticut borrowers will receive an estimated $119 million in benefits from loan term modifications and other direct relief.
• The estimated 7,500 Connecticut borrowers who lost their home to foreclosure from January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2011 and suffered servicing abuse would qualify for an estimated $1,500 in cash payments to individual borrowers.
  
• The value of refinanced loans to Connecticut’s underwater borrowers would be an estimated $36 million.
• The state will receive a direct payment estimated at $27 million to help pay for local foreclosure prevention programs, such as the Connecticut Department of Banking’s foreclosure prevention hotline, HUD- approved housing counselors, the Judicial Branch’s foreclosure mediation program, non-profit legal aid groups that help homeowners facing foreclosure, and loan modification programs supported by the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority.

The lenders are to reach out and help those struggling now. Contact numbers for the big 5 are below if you have questions about your own mortgage with them:

1. Bank of America: 877.488.7814
2. Citi: 866.372.6901
3. Chase: 866.372.6901
   
4. GMAC: 800.766.4622
   
5. Wells Fargo: 800.288.3212

You may also be contacted by a settlement administrator from the State of Connecticut. For more information check out the National Mortgage Settlement Website.

This settlement agreement does NOT grant immunity to the Big 5.

"The settlement does not grant any immunity from criminal offenses and will not affect criminal prosecutions. The agreement does not prevent homeowners or investors from pursuing individual, institutional or class action civil cases against the five servicers.; The pact also enables state attorneys general and federal agencies to investigate and pursue other aspects of the mortgage crisis, including securities cases." -Office of Attorney General George Jepson

(The final settlement is slated to be filed in U.S. District Court in Washington D.C.)

For those who are struggling now, this could mean the help you are looking for. For those who may qualify for a $1,500 payment because they suffered abuse by the big 5, were a victim of robo-signing, etc., I am hoping it is not a case of "too little, too late".

I am also hoping that the lenders have properly trained their staff, that they are aware that the game has changed, that the goal is to help the struggling home owner.

Watertown CT 2011 Real Estate Market Report

In 2011, 164 homes were sold in Watertown CT, with an average sale price of $231,642 and an average of 93 days on market. The homes that sold ranged from an 888 sq. ft. 2 bedroom mobile home that sold for $26,000, to a 4951 sq. ft. colonial that sold for $511,650.

The absorption rate for Watertown CT in 2011 was 13.67 homes sold per month. With an average of 118 homes on the market at any given time in Watertown CT, there are 8.6 months of inventory remaining.

2011 was a good year for the majority of sellers in Watertown CT, with average sales prices 6% higher than last year’s sales prices, and more than 20% increase in volume of sales compared to the last two years. As the average sales price/list price ratios continue to remain over 90% and days of market for homes sold are at the 3 month average, the best advice for Watertown CT home sellers is this: price your homes at market values based on its condition, and you can indeed sell your home quickly for a price that is acceptable to you.

For further information about the Watertown CT market and to determine if this is the right time to sell, call me at (203) 558-7463 to receive a free home evaluation and a list of tips that will help you prepare your home for sale. I look forward to discussing with you Watertown CT homes for sale.

©William James Walton, Sr. Market Report data provided by CTMLS. All data reported is accurate but not guaranteed at time of publication.

WATERTOWN CT-REAL ESTATE MARKET REPORT- JANUARY 2012

Watertown CT-Real Estate Market Report January 2012 The real estate market in Watertown CT continues to show improvement, with higher average sales prices and with more homes being sold in December 2011 compared to December 2010, and inventory very close to shifting back into a seller’s market. If you are thinking about putting your home on the market, now would be a good time to do so.

The single familyWatertown CT homes for salerange from an1138 sq. ft. 1 bedroom cottage being offered for $60,000 to an8908 sq. ft. 7 bedroom colonial being offered for $1.8 million.

Here is a breakdown of the home prices in Watertown CT:

You can get a better sense of what the real estate market for Watertown CT looks like by viewing the information by zip code:

You can search for Watertown CT homes for sale by visiting William’s Places!

The Watertown CThomes that sold in December range from a912 sq. ft., 2 bedroom ranch that sold for $58,575 to a 3776 sq. ft., 4 bedroom colonial that sold for $450,000.

These are thetwenty homes that sold in the Watertown CT area in the month of December:

Looking to relocate to Watertown, CT? Visit Looking For A Reason To Move-Destination: Watertown CT

For more information on Watertown CT, you can visit the following posts:

Watertown CT Real Estate - Market Updates

Winding Brook Farm - Watertown CT

Lake Winnemaug - Watertown CT

For further information about theWatertown CT market and to determine if this is the right time to sell, call me at (203) 558-7463 to receive a free home evaluation and a list of tips that will help you prepare your home for sale.I look forward to discussing with you Watertown CT homes for sale.

©William James Walton, Sr. Market Report data provided by CTMLS. All data reported is accurate but not guaranteed at time of publication.

According to my most recent real estate sales statistics for New Milford, Connecticut, homes sold for less than 14% of list price! Sort of...

That is 14% of the last listed price, not the original list price. Do you want to see what the original list to sale price was? Well, here it is, for all 11 homes that sold in January 2012 in New Milford, CT.

Original List Price (OLP), Sales Price (SP), Days on Market for the current listing (DOM), % off sales price

OLP 220,000, SP 79,500, DOM 49, 64% OFF the listed price
OLP 169,900, SP 90,000, DOM 209, 47% OFF the listed price
OLP 169,900, SP 135,000, DOM 108, 21% OFF the listed price
OLP 219,000, SP 192,000, DOM 212, 12% OFF the listed price
OLP 259,000, SP 200,000, DOM 417, 23% OFF the listed price
OLP 284,900, SP 245,000, DOM 231, 14% OFF the listed price
OLP 285,000, SP 260,000, DOM 64, 9% OFF the listed price
OLP 360,000, SP 299,900, DOM 113, 17% OFF the listed price
OLP 414,000, SP 380,000, DOM 101, 8% OFF the listed price
OLP 875,000, SP 635,000, DOM 180, 27% OFF the listed price
OLP 1,575,000, SP 1,050,000, DOM 253, 33% OFF the listed price

That looks more like a big box store fire sale than real estate sales to me. The actual average percentage off, when you look at the original list to sale price in New Milford, CT was 25% off the list price. WOW!

According to the latest issue of the Commercial Record, Connecticut saw a 13% decline in sales for 2011. The Warren Group has been keeping track of these numbers since 1987 and this is the seventh year in a row we have seen sales drop in Connecticut from the previous year.

What does this mean if you want, or need to sell your home in New Milford, CT?

When we started in January 2012 we had 189 homes for sale. At the end of January only 11 of those homes sold. That is only 5.82% of the inventory that sold.

I can't stress enough to price it right. If you need to sell, you really need to look carefully at the current competition when you list and keep track of them during your listing period. Adjust your price according to the competition. If you don't need to sell, but would really like to, the advice is the same.

But Andrea, we are not going to give it away..... No, you are not. At least not according to the current real estate market. The bottom line is, your house is only worth what a buyer will pay for it.

And when that really low offer comes in, think twice about getting upset. Take a close look at those numbers above. The actual average percentage off from the original list price to the final sales price is 25%, then combine that with some of the days on market and you have a recipe for disaster if you need to sell your home.

For more information about pricing your home to sell and learn about our Ultimate Marketing 24-7, a totally customized marketing system for your home, give us a call at 203.460.1775, or send an email to andrea@andreaswiedler.com.

New Milford CT Real Estate Market Statistics for January 2012