Wilton First Quarter 2019 results

The volume of home sales in Wilton has fared better in the first quarter of this year than last, with 41 homes that closed in the first quarter compared to 34 in the first quarter of 2018.  The highest price that sold in the first quarter of 2018 was a home at 21 School Road that sold for $2,850,000. The highest price in the first quarter of 2019 was $ 1,760,000

Looking back at the first quarter of 2018 the median price of homes that sold was $740,000.  This year's first quarter results are showing a median price of $650,000 for homes that have already closed in the first quarter.

There are currently 18 single family properties that have accepted offers.  This represents the most recent activity.  The median listing price of these homes is $630,000.  However, when we look at the median list price of the 18 homes under contract, it is now at $875,000.  The trend still feels like one of a buyer's market.  The general condition of homes on the market is still trending towards staged, updated homes attracting the most attention. Activity on the lower end of the market is strong.

Here is a list of homes that have sold in the first quarter:

9 Sunset Hill Road                                  $ 285,000
8 Wolfpit lane                                          $ 325,000
12 Pond Road                                          $ 329,000
18 Horseshoe Road                                 $  390,000
67 Old Farm Road                                   $ 420,000
35 Blue Ridge Road                                 $ 468,900
40 Pelham Lane                                        $ 481,000
81 Kensett Drive                                       $ 490,000
239 Olmstead Hill road                             $ 490,000
807 Ridgefield Road                                 $ 505,000
36 Grey Rocks Road                                 $ 508,000
152 Range Road                                        $549,000
41 Scribner Hill Road                                $560,000
200 Drum Hill Road                                  $ 570,000
24 Wilton Hunt road                                  $ 605,000
25 Sharp Hill road                                      $ 615,000
8 Roxbury lane                                           $ 620,000
134 Range Road                                         $ 625,000
163 Whipstick Road                                   $ 627,500
28 Oak Ledge Road                                    $ 635,000
48 Black Alder lane                                    $ 666,000
83 Musket Ridge road                                $  685,000
106 Indian Hill road                                    $  712,500
70 Linden Tree road                                    $  725,000
20 Fairfax Ave.                                            $  729,000
25 Millstone Road                                       $  747,000
31 Thunder Lake Road                                $  748,500
85 Kellogg Drive                                          $  800,000
37 Black alder lane                                       $  825,000
92 Turtlehead road                                        $  875,000
42 Wicks End lane                                         $  930,000
71 Coley road                                                $  975,000
194 Drum Hill road                                       $ 1,000,000
21 Little Fox lane                                           $ 1,110,000
87 Catalpa road                                              $ 1,140,000
11 Parish Road                                               $ 1,215,000
108 Nod Hill road                                          $ 1,230,000
1 Spruce Meadow Court                                $ 1,250,000
168 Linden Tree road                                     $ 1,460,000
39 Friendlee Lane                                           $ 1,582,500
235 Cheesespring Road                                   $1,760,000

Weston First Quarter Results

Weston has seen an increase in homes sold thus far this year compared to 2018.  There have been 27 homes sold in the first quarter compared to 23 in the first quarter of 2018.  However, the median price of these sales dropped from $695,000 in 2018's first quarter to $574,000 in 2019.  The highest sales price in 2019 has been 6 Calvin road, which sold at full price, $1,350,000. 

There are currently 11 properties that have accepted offers and 14 homes that are under contract.  The highest asking price of a home under contract is 25 Hemlock Ridge, listed at $1,749,000.

Here are the homes which have sold in 2019:

47 Godfrey Road West     $275,000             (listed at $290,000)
16 Weston Woods Rd.         315,000            (listed at 324,900)
10 Salem Road                    395,000            (listed at $475,000)
127 Georgetown Rd.           399,900            (listed at $389,900)
35 Blue Spruce Circle         414,101            (listed at $425,000)
106 Lords Hwy                    450,000            (listed at $474,900)
291 Newtown Tpke              460,000           (Listed at $519,900)
40 Kramer lane                     515,000          (Listed at $529,000)
16 Wilson Road                     520,000          (Listed at 529,000)
25 White Birch                      525,000          (Listed at 550,000)
7 Richmond Hill rd.              528,000          (Listed at 525,000)
9 Roscrea Place                    550,000           (Listed at $625,000)
12 Farrell Rd.                        564,000          (Listed at $624,900)
7 Cindy Rd.                           584,000          (Listed at 619,900)
55 Eleven O'Clock                620,004          (Listed at 619,900)
28 Brier Brook Rd.               625,000          (Listed at 669,000)
13 Deer Run Trail                 636,000          (Listed at 635,000)
19 Hickory lane                     645,000          (Listed at 699,000)
12 Curiosity lane                   655,500          (Listed at 699,000)
108 Birch Hill rd.                   665,000         (Listed at 685,000)
19 Laurel Lake E.                   655,000         (Listed at 699,000)
23 Riverbank rd.                     712,000         (Listed at 847,000)
23 Langner lane                       715,000         (Listed at 725,000)
12 Singing Oaks                    1,040,000        (Listed at 1,079,000)
11 Lilac Lane                          1,175,000       (Listed at 1,249,000)
275 Newtown Tpke.               1,300,000        (Listed at 1,350,000)
6 Calvin Road                         $1,350,000      (Listed at 1,350,000)

First Quarter 2019 Westport Results

Real Estate activity has had a bit of a roller coaster effect this year.  We seemed to be having a good start of the year that coincided with unseasonably warm weather in March.  Usually, things don't pick up until around February 15th, a date which usually coincides, more or less, with the Superbowl

The weather in mid to late February did not cooperate, and we saw a slowdown for a couple of weeks.  In the last couple of weeks the market has picked up again.

Recent activity can be best seen by properties that have accepted offers but have not yet gone to contract.  There are currently 39 properties that fit that category, including 28 which are listed for over $1 million.  In the early stages of the quarter we were seeing movement in less expensive properties.  The properties that are under contract are further along in the process and are more reflective of activity that occurred a little earlier.  Of the 42 properties under contract slightly more than half are over $1 million.

It could be that some people who have paid their income taxes are feeling a little better about what they paid.  The new mortgage limits and real estate tax deductions had been holding us back on the higher end.  That is evident in the number of closed sales in the early months of the year, which reflect activity that occurred two to three months before closing.

Through the first 3 months of the year Westport saw a significant downturn in the number of closed sales from the same three month period in 2018, from 84 in 2018 to 46 in 2019.  The median prices of our closings in the first quarter of 2019 seem to reflect an impact of the new tax laws, with a preponderance of properties selling near the $1 million mark.  The median price for the 46 sales has been $1,195,000.  However, the median price of the homes that have recently accepted offers is $1,495,000.  This is practically the same as the median price of first quarter closed sales in 2018, which was $1,400,000.

One should always reserve judgement after the first quarter statistics become known, because the second quarter, from April through June, is usually the busiest time of the year.  Special events such as elections can also have an impact on first quarter statistics as can the previously mentioned effects of the weather.

New Year's Resolution-Positivity

I know that today is April 1st, but this is not a joke.  And I know that New Year's resolutions are supposed to be made in January, but sometimes there are just things that seem like epiphanies that hit us later on in the year.

Like many of my fellow citizens I have been involved in watching news events on television and online on a daily basis. While the events emanating  from the workings of our representatives in Washington are engrossing (in a soap opera kind of way), I think that it has affected the general mood of the country in ways that are demonstrably negative.

This applies to both the left and the right, and although the polarities have been reinforced over the last several decades, it will likely only get worse unless every person vows to try to see the positive
in our fellow citizens and non-citizens.

Every religious faith promotes the concept of loving one's neighbor, or inviting the stranger to one's table when they are in need.  It is time to remind ourselves of this.

From negativity comes more negativity-and the reverse must therefore also be true.  The  Buddhist saying surely applies: Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

We are a country that has always been looking toward the future, which has been a boon to our abililty to adapt to difficult situations, but sometimes one has to slow down to be more in the present before looking forward.

In the real estate business there are many sellers who are unhappy because they are not getting the return on investment that they had hoped for, and there are buyers who also fall into a similar place because they want to have a certainty of what values will be like in several years.

I invite them all to join in my new mantra.  Let's appreciate the present moment and not dwell on the past- hopefully we are in good health, and have loving friends and family. 

Let me leave you with this quote from Lamine Pearlheart:

“Life is not the problem, life is a solution. Those who think it to be endured are miserable souls and their views were shaped by negative energy, those who believe that there is anything better, are misled by their urge to live eternally and are apparent witnesses to the greatness of life since they want more of it and not less.

I know that life under a human form is a gift, few creatures get the privilege to experience it as such; to whatever cause I had the chance to experience it in its fullness in a positive way, I am utterly grateful.”