2018 Mid-Fairfield Yearly Real Estate Totals

The 4^th quarter saw a slowdown in activity.  Sales did not keep pace with the first 3 quarters of the year.  Values of higher end sales continued to be more impacted than those in lower end homes.  Thisfollows the previous thesis that I previously put forward regarding the impact of the new tax laws affecting the limits in deductions of real estate taxes and mortgages.

In Westport, there were 433 single family home sales in 2018 compared with 410 in the previous year representing a decrease of approximately 5.5 %. More significantly, the median price decreased from $1,314,000 in 2017 to $1,220,000 in 2018, a 9.2% drop.  There were 72 properties that sold for over $2 million. There were 143 sales of  single family homes for under $1 million. 

Weston values decreased slightly more than those in Westport, dropping 10 per cent to a median price of $702,000 compared to $780,000 in 2017.  Sales numbers were less impacted with a differential of only 6 homes, from 173 in 2017 to 167 this past year, only a 3.4% difference. The total of sales under $800,000 was 101. There were 9 properties that sold for over $1.5 million in 2018.  Two of these were over $2 million.

Wilton’s median price actually increased in 2018 to $780,000, from $727,000 in 2017.  However, the sales volume decreased from 229 to 206 single family homes sales, a 7.2% decrease. The total of sales under $800,000 was 109.  There were ten sales of properties over $1.5 million.  4 of these were over $2 million.

Fairfield also had positive results in terms of its median price, increasing from $599,000 in 2017 to $630.000 in 2018.  Single family home sales were down in 2018 to 730 from 781 in 2017, a 6.5% decrease.  There were 585 sales under $1 million.  Sales of homes sold for over $2 million totaled 29.

Updated Sales Figures through December 7, 2018 -A Reflection of the Stock Market?

At the end of  January 1, 2018 the Dow Jones stood at $24,824, a phenomenal standard at the time.  It went at high as 26,773 just two months ago, on October 3rd.  That is a nearly 9 per cent difference between the high and low point.

As of today, the median price of single family homes in Westport  is down 8.6% for the year, a remarkably similar figure to the figure just cited. Clearly the new tax laws which limit mortgage and real estate taxes deductions has impacted the Northeast, especially in towns with many high end homes . The 2017 median price in Westport was $1,320,000 compared to $1,220,000 this year.  The volume of sales in Westport has declined approximately 5% since the beginning of the year.  Year to date totals of 2018 are currently at 391 versus 411 at the same time last year. Active listings stand at 292 single family homes, and there are 36 properties under contract (or binder). End of the year statistics will be impacted by the number of closings that take place before the year's end.  Stay tuned in early January for those figures.

Westport's sister town of Weston has had a slightly more challenging year in terms of pricing.  The median price at this time in 2017 was $771,000 versus $699,000 through today in 2018.  That is a 9.4% difference.  In terms of volume, though, there have actually been 2 more sales year to date compared with last year, 156 versus 154.  The actives currently stand at 137, with an additional 24 properties that are under contract/binder. 

Wilton experienced a flip performance compared to its neighbor, Weston.  The median price went from $747,000 in 2017 to $797,000 currently, a 6.7% increase.  Other the other hand, Wilton saw a decrease in sales volume of 10%, from 217 single family sales at this time last year to 195  as of today.  There are 23 properties under contract and 169 active listings.

The town of Fairfield also experienced mixed signals.  The median price jumped from $508,000 at this time last year, to $630,000 currently, a gain of 24 percentage points.  The sales volume, however, went from 747 single family homes last year to 699 as of today, a drop of 6.4%.  Fairfield currently has 368 active listings and 91 properties under contract.