Thursday, September 10, 2015

Late Summer Surge

As we look back on the hot summer of 2015, we see that August activity was heated in all Mid-Fairfield towns as well.  In the town of Fairfield the number of homes that went under contract in August was more than double what it had been in August of 2015.  Interestingly in Fairfield the marketing time of homes remains very steady at 145 days compared to 146 days last year, which is the shortest average of all of the towns included in our regular overview.  Closed sales in Fairfield are up 14.9% to 539 thus far this year, and there have been 599 properties that have gone to escrow, so end of year sales should be significantly higher than in 2014.  With all of those impressive numbers,
one might expect to see an increase in the median price in Fairfield, but it remains at approximately
$580,000-the same figure as the 2014 Median price. The trend of lower priced homes continues to
make up the lion's share of homes going to contract.  Entry level buyers continue to see the value of Fairfield's Silver Ribbon schools and outstanding amenities.

Westport also saw a nice jump in August activity, with 53 single family properties going to contract compared to 34 last year. Through the end of August there have been 290 single family homes that have gone to contract compared to 276 during the comparable period in 2014, a 5.1% increase. Current closed sales (through August 31) are at 260 vs. 266 in the previous year, and the marketing time of properties has increased to 182 days compared to 167 in 2014.  The median price in Westport has dipped slightly (-2.8%) to $1,312,505.

Weston had a solid August  with contracts up to 21 compared to 11 in the previous August, and the median price increasing year to date 5.2% to $852,000.  Yearly escrows are up 9.9% from the previous year, though closed sales stand at 115, down 7 from the previous year, and marketing times have increased to 191 days compared to 173 at this time last year.

Wilton is now slightly lagging 2014 levels.  The 150 closed sales are 15 behind end of August, 2014 single family sales figures, though the days on market of homes dropped 7% to 147 days on average. The median price increased 7.4% to 860,000 ($8000 higher than its neighbor Weston).   Year to date 170 homes have gone to contract compared to 168 through end of August, 2014.  There are signs of increased activity in September, so yearly levels may yet catch up.

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