Tom Burland

"Spending to Sell" An Article Every Seller Should Read

Tom Burland www.Ct-Shore-Homes.com

Saturday's New York Times did all real estate agents a huge favor, they wrote an article that lays out the current "Buyers Market" for our clients. It points out that the houses/condos/co-ops that are selling are those that combine great price, great location and turn-key sale. Those sellers understand the market, in today's market you need to be priced right (at or below the level of comparable homes that SOLD - not those sitting on the market) and need to be ready to move in with no updates needed.

Link to Article http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/realestate/06cov.html?scp=1&sq=spending%20to%20sell&st=cse

A great read for everyone, and very good collateral for Agents to include in their listing presentations and market reviews for their existing seller clients.

Have Connecticut Home Prices Finally Stablized?

Tom Burland www.Ct-Shore-Homes.com

The latest Standard & Poors/Case-Shiller index was just released (8/25) indicating that home prices for the 2Q2009 have shown improvement for the first time in several quarters (3 years.)

Traditionally the Media has relied on Median Home Prices to represent rise and fall of values, however the flaw in this approach is that this only represents the Median Price of the inventory that sold - so if a lot of smaller house sell the median reflects a lower median price.

Why is the Case-Shiller index a better indicator - because it uses repeat sales of the same house over a period of time and then appropriately adjusts, using a weighting factor, to smooth out large spikes in value between sales that could be from additions/renovations, and to account for larger periods of time between sales.

Connecticut (Fairfied/New Haven Counties) is included in the original 10 Metro Areas (cities) under New York. The Quarter ending June'09 showed a modest 0.4% increase over the 1Q09 and a -11.9% decline in values from the previous year - which is also an improvement.

On a national bases there was an approximate 4% value increase Q2 over Q1, but this also represents an improvement on a greater negative impact - the national 20 City (Metro Area) is still showing a -15.4 decline in value vs a year ago. Keep in mind these are trends, and real estate is local - but we have seen the national trends have significant impacts on local markets. While specific measurements are going to be different in our own market it is primarily going to be degrees of difference, not alternate trends.

Why is a -11.9% and -15.4% decline cause for celebration? Because it shows a reversal in trends.

For Buyers - for those waiting for the bottom before buying, many economists are using this report coupled with recent over all economic improvements to say this may signal the bottom has been hit on home prices. This doesn't mean that all houses on the market are priced right, but if you look at recent sales you will have a better feel for what the true values are.

For Sellers - Before you run off and tell your Realtor to increase your listing price, you need to really understand what this means. Many sellers look to the houses on the market that have not yet sold to feel comfortable with where they are priced - in the end they are making sure there house is priced similarly to the other houses on the market that have failed to sell. This report should indicate to sellers that a percentage of buyers are going to re-enter the active search mode and make a decision. They are going to make that decision based on their best perceived value benchmarking listings against recent sales (within last 3 months).

With our current inventories not everything will sell, there is just too much on the market. What will sell are those homes that represent the best value from a Product, Presentation and most importantly Price Perspective. So this next 8 weeks are more important than ever to price your home right - because chances are a higher number of homes will go under contract in the next few months than would have if the media was not reporting good news.

The actual report can be downloaded at http://www2.standardandpoors.com/spf/pdf/index/CSHomePrice_Release_082562.pdf

More information on the Case-Shiller Methodology http://www2.standardandpoors.com/portal/site/sp/en/us/page.topic/indices_csmahp/2,3,4,0,0,0,0,0,0,2,1,0,0,0,0,0.html

Clinton CT Open House

When: Sunday June 28, 2009 from 1-3 pm

Where: 8 Sassafras Lane, Clinton CT

Price: $425,000

Four Bedroom colonial in quiet neighborhood, centrally located close to town and beaches. The large eat in kitchen flows into a large family room. A wonderful 3 season porch expands the living area and looks out over the level back yard. The lower level includes 2 large rooms and a full bath with Shower.

For more information click here

Support Madison Cares while you Love Your Local Merchants at 'Murder Mystery Night' April 30

Beginning at 5:30 pm April 30, participating merchants will host receptions in their stores, where visitors can sample wine and hors oeuvres as well as gather clues to solve the mystery. Each store will provide a different clue. Participants can visit as many stores as they wish to collect clues and enter their guess of "whodunit" before the movie begins. One lucky sleuth, drawn at the theater from among the correct entries, will win a weekend getaway for two.

The evening will culminate at Madison Art Cinemas at 8 pm for a screening of Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954), starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly. In keeping with the theme, this year's movie will be Alfred Hitchcock's, Rear Window (1954), starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly. The movie is about a photojournalist confined to a wheelchair with a broken leg, who believes that a murder has been committed by his neighbor.

Tickets are $35 and can be purchased in advance at participating Madison stores, including RJ Julia Booksellers, Given Fine Chocolates, Peter Indorf Jewelers, Jolie Boutique, Anna Mia's, bella Perlina, Walker Loden, Maggies of Madison, Frances Amerique and Ciao Bella Moda International.

A limited number of Patron tickets are available for $50. Patron tickets include reserved seating at the theater and admission to a private event at R.J. Julia Booksellers, "Behind the Mystery," at 7 pm by Isleib and bookstore owner extraordinaire Roxanne Coady.

All proceeds from the event will benefit Madison Cares.

Call (203) 245-2315 for more information or www.MadisonCares.org

Connecticut Shoreline Real Estate Market Statistics

Tom Burland www.Ct-Shore-Homes.com

I just posted my February newsletter and found that we are seeing a nice increase in Homes for Sale going under contract in Madison CT and Guilford CT. The table below shows that in Guilford, there were 32 homes that buyers put under contract in January of this year vs. just 12 in 2008, in Madison the number of homes going under contract in January of 2009 was 21 vs just 17 in 2008. Also worth noting, the homes that went under contract had an Average Days On Market of 56 in Guilford and 83 days in Madison, which is significantly below what we had been seeing.

For more market statistics visit our website newsletter http://www.ct-shore-homes.com/newsletters-c11857.html Also please sign up for email delivery of this newsletter which is published each month.

We would welcome the opportunity to provide additional insight on the local market...just give us a call.