Kent, CT

Are homes selling in Kent, CT? The real estate market is admittedly slow in Kent, although not surprising in this current real estate market. It is a buyers market in Kent, with the current listings compared to the sales, it will take 21.5 months to sell the current homes that are for sale. This is called the market absorption rate. (A sellers market is anything under 6 months, 6 months is a balanced market, and over 6 months is a buyers market.)

Currently in Kent, CT there are 43 active single family homes for sale. One of these homes is "under deposit", not yet under contract. Typically this period of time can take from 2-4 weeks before it moves from under deposit to pending sale. The buyer is doing inspections and the sellers attorney is drawing up the contract, or checking over the contract of sale if the offer was written on a contract form. Anything can happen in this time period. If issues arise at the inspection that the buyer and seller cannot agree on, if the buyer suddenly develops a case of buyers remorse, there are many reasons why the deal can head south during this period of time.

Kent Connecticut Real Estate Statistics

• Active Listings: 43
• Average list price: $804,509
• Median list price: $479,500
• Average days on market: 215
  

• February 2012 single family homes sold: 2
• Average list price: $629,000
• Average sale price: $550,000
• Average days on market: 475
• Median sales price: $464,000

What can you buy for the average list price in Kent, CT right now? A home in the Spectacle Ridge community of Spectacle Lake. A barn style home, 2,000 square feet, built in 2003 with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths on 8.33 acres. This home is listed for $780,000.

What can you buy for the average sale price in Kent, CT right now? A mid-century modern home, 2,000 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths on 1.7 acres very near Macedonia State Park. (This home is currently marked as "under deposit, continue to show".)

Currently the highest priced home in Kent, CT is $4,000,000. This home was built as a hunting lodge in the 1930's, was renovated for a single family residence. It sits on 105 acres, and the house itself is over 5,000 square feet.

Currently the lowest priced home in Kent, CT is $100,000, a short sale. This is a very modest home along the Housatonic River, set on 4.38 acres. The house is very small at 609 square feet, was built in 1900, and will need work.

Looking back over 2011 for home sales in Kent, CT.

• 2011 single family home sales: 27
• Average sale price: $506,411
• Median sale price: $325,000
• Highest sale price: $2,950,000
• Lowest sale price: $86,000

Need to sell your home in Kent, CT? The statistics tell you it will take time. And if you truly want to sell your home you need to price it WELL AHEAD of the others. Then market the heck out of the home. Before you decide to sell your home in Kent, CT I would suggest you read "The Great Real Estate Divide".

Thinking of buying a home in Kent, CT? Kent is a beautiful town in the Litchfield Hills. Kent is a 90 minute trip to New York City so it has long been a favorite spot for those looking for a second "country" home in Litchfield County. When I think of Kent, I think of art festivals, the vibrant downtown area of Kent and some of the most amazing country roads you can imagine. In the fall Kent is just spectacular, and not to bad in the three other seasons too! You can see Kent, CT through my eyes here.

This data was compiled from information take from the Connecticut Statewide Multiple Listing Service. I believe it to be an accurate representation of the Kent, CT real estate market. Information is deemed reliable but not necessarily accurate.

Kent CT real estate in Litchfield County, what's selling, what's for sale and what does it all mean?

As a buyer looking to purchase property in Kent, CT it could be a great deal for you. A few factors come into play. First and foremost, it is a buyers market. Currently there are 52 active listings. It will take 13 months to sell that inventory, which is called the absorption rate. Anything over 6 months indicates a buyers market, 6 months is considered to be a balanced market, and below that is a sellers market. As long as the seller understands this, you should be able to negotiate a good deal for yourself.

List to sale ratio. 4 homes sold in August of 2011 in Kent, CT with an average list to sale price of 81.69%. For a buyer, that is good news, I would be keeping that in the back of my mind and asking my agent to look carefully at any home I was interested in purchasing.

As a seller, the list to sale ratio is not good. It means that overpricing your home doesn't work. Buyers are savvy, they know what has sold, what isn't selling, what they are willing to pay. And with 52 active listings competing for a sale in Kent, CT, and a 13 month absorption rate, you need to price your house very aggressively if you want or need to sell.

As of today, for 2011, 17 homes have sold in Kent, CT. The average sale price started out in January at $428,259, yet is sliding downward and is now at $254,000. This means that although there are some wonderful estate homes for sale in Kent, they are just not selling as they once were.

Kent, Connecticut is a fantastic town along the New York border in Litchfield County. A vibrant community, the downtown area is alive with small boutique type stores, restaurants, so many things to do and see. Last year Kent, CT was voted by Yankee Magazine "best place for leaf peeping" in New England. And we Yankees know leaf peeping! Read about the award and more about Kent here.

Here is a small segment of a fascinating article by Andrew Schneider Senior Public Health Correspondent...

Americans living in millions of homes will soon crawl into their attics to collect their holiday decorations.

But with those colorful lights and ornaments could come invisible and deadly asbestos fibers that decades from now may destroy or end the lives of some of the celebrants.

For years the government has known that the attics and walls of as many as 35 million homes and businesses are insulated with Zonolite, which contains lethal asbestos-tainted vermiculite.

Some medical authorities believe that people are still dying because of it.

More than 400 deaths have been attributed to exposure to vermiculite in the community in which it was mined, and a litany of solid scientific studies has shown that it can kill.

Yet the government has steadfastly refused even to issue widespread warnings to the public about its dangers.

The tale of this confirmed killer includes political intrigue, White House intervention, industry meddling and the failure of three Environmental Protection Agency administrators to act on their promises

When asked what they've done to alert the public, EPA officials repeatedly point to the vermiculite page on the agency's website,

...which even many inside the agency say is inadequate. W. R. Grace & Co., who produced the vermiculite ore used in the insulation, has continued to insist that the insulation is safe and presents no health risk to homeowners.

Zonolite insulation hasn't been sold for years, but experts fear its dangers may be more acute today than ever. They worry about the spread of asbestos contamination in aging homes containing this insulation. And they fear that government-funded plans to weatherize millions of homes will increase the likelihood of exposure among installers and residents.

While the threat exists all year, every year until the Zonolite is removed, experts like Miller believe the potential for exposure to the asbestos is greatest during the holidays.

"There are millions, likely tens of millions of homes in the United States probably contaminated with this [lethal] material. The inventories show it was pretty much distributed from coast to coast, most heavily across the tier of Northern states -- New England, the upper Midwest and the Northwest -- and in all likelihood, it's still there," toxicologist Weis said.

Agency statisticians geographically plotted sales of Libby vermiculite and showed it went into homes at least as far south as Jacksonville, Fla., and deep into the northern portions of the Canadian provinces. Sales were highest from Grace's national network of processing plants.

The threat may be even more pressing today because the potential for hazard is increasing as the homes containing this insulation age.

"They're being renovated. New wiring is being put in as the aging wiring becomes unsafe. Internet wiring and cabling is being installed in these attics, as well as exhaust fans and various type of winterization," said Weis, who is now senior toxicologist with the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences.

"All of this activity -- even the most gentle action -- disturbs the asbestos, endangering not only the workers but spreading it though the homes," he added.

But even if the attics are well sealed off from the rest of the house, the EPA and its outside asbestos consultants have found asbestos-contaminated vermiculite dust seeping through wall switches, ceiling-light fixtures and fans and sometimes through the dried-out joint tape in ceilings and walls.

"If I had Zonolite in my house I would want to know it, and if I knew it, I would do everything I could to get it out of there," said Paul Peronard, who headed the EPA's cleanup of Libby.

Some additional links of interest:

Part 1: Government Refuses to Act on Cancer-Causing Insulation
Madison Square Garden Case Illustrates Paranoia
What to Do If You Have Zonolite Insulation
Part 2: Cancer Patient's Home a 'Living Laboratory' for Deadly Fibers
Part 3: 'In Libby, There Was No Maybe' About Dangers
Part 4: Asbestos Dangers Known Centuries Ago, but Battle Continues

And so it begins, the symphony of colors splashing across the Litchfield County, Connecticut countryside against the backdrop of our ever changing skies. Fall is my most favorite time of year, the cooler days, the crisp evenings and of course the eye candy in every direction as the leaves begin their "Dance of Fall" right before my very eyes. It is impossible for one to remain unaffected by the awesome work of nature, the spectacular vistas that we live in the middle of.

The leaves have begun their dance, you can see the green giving way to hints of color here and there, anticipation mounts with each passing day. Is it peak? Is it time? Will today be the day that I drive down the road and see that fantastic sugar maple has decided to burst forth in the most amazing colors possible. It is truly a symphony of colors, filling your eyes and mind with such wonder and amazement. Yes, I do love fall.

According to the Connecticut DEP, our peak fall foliage will run from October 11th through November 13th, 2011. And just to show you I am right about Litchfield County in Connecticut does have some of the most spectacular viewing around, Yankee Magazine voted Kent, CT as the number one leaf peeping site this year! Take a ride up Route 7 or Rt 202 in Litchfield County, take a few detours on some of our wonderful country roads, let your eyes fill up with the majesty of the Symphony of Colors!

A few Leaf Peeping Places in Litchfield County for fall foliage:

Macedonia Brook State Park, Kent, CT and Kent Falls State Park, Kent, CT
Lake Waramaug, New Preston, CT
Steep Rock, Washington, CT
Mine Hill Preserve, Roxbury, CT
Lovers Leap State Park, New Milford, CT

No matter where you go in Litchfield County, you are sure to find some of the most beautiful fall foliage around. Take a picnic, stop at one of our local restaurants, bring your camera, just have a wonderful time!

And so it begins, the Symphony of Colors in Litchfield County!

Some lovely pictures of my favorite little friends...

Enjoy and have a great weekend!