August 2012 Trends

Steamy Summer The temperatures weren’t the only thing heating up as we continued to see a nice boost in summer sales activity. As always a quick look at individual towns to look at the figures: Westport single family sales to date (through August 31st) now stand at 254 vs. 263 in 2011, but the gap continues to narrow as 48 properties entered escrow in August vs. 28 in August 2011. The median sales price in August was $1,400,000 reflecting sales of some larger homes, but the yearly median price is holding steady at $1,250,000, a 9.5% increase over 2011. Weston is ahead of its’ 2011 figures with 80 homes that have closed title, and 32 homes that went to escrow in August! The median price is now at $736,000, though the August median sold price was $789,000. Homes over $1 million are starting to sell again in Weston. There are still some excellent buying opportunities, especially at $1,200,000+. Occasional bank owned properties are being purchased quickly. This has had a downward influence on the median sales price with fewer units trading in Weston than in a larger town such as Westport. Wilton has also followed the same trends as in Weston. Its’ 156 single family home sales represented a 19% increase over 2011 sales through August (131). The median sales price in Wilton is also trending downwards, as in Weston. The August figure was $752,000 which was just below the yearly number’s trend at $756,000. Though not quite as impressive as Weston’s, the August escrows jumped from 17 to 27, an impressive 58% increase. Sales spike was also the order of the month in Fairfield. The 91 homes that went to escrow represented a 127.5% increase over 2011. Closed sales in Fairfield are already running at nearly 12% over 2011 totals. The Median Closed sales price is exactly where it was at this time last year, at $551,000. The smallest of the Mid-Fairfield towns, Easton, also followed a similar path. August sales increased 57%! Closed sales through August are up the same amount. The median sales price in Easton has also seen a drop year over year, to $590,000. Norwalk, our largest neighbor, is also following a similar path. Its’ 345 closed sales represent a nearly 11% increase in sales, and August sales saw a 28.9% jump. Norwalk remains the most affordable Mid-Fairfield area. The Median Sales price now stands at $415,000, which fell only 1.2% in the past year. Our largest city to the west, Stamford, also followed the same trend, with a 56% spike in August contracts. Year to date closed sales are up 6.3% over last year, and the median sales price has seen a 3.3% increase to $563,000.