By the Numbers...Breakdown of Sales

Here are the breakdown of Sales in the Mid-Fairfield Connecticut area through November 8, 2012 Price Range Westport Weston Wilton Fairfield Norwalk $0-500,000 22 21 36 283 458 $500,000-800,000 77 38 90 168 94 $800,000-1,000,000 55 26 38 47 22 $1,000,000-1,200,000 27 12 20 40 6 $1,200,000-1,500,000 53 5 13 36 12 $1,500,000-2,000,000 52 7 10 13 10 $2,000,000-2,500,000 29 1 1 10 4 $2,500,000-3,000,000 15 1 0 2 3 $3,000,000-3,500,000 7 0 0 0 2 $3,500,000+ 10 0 0 1 3 Totals 327 108 199 588 607 Includes Single Family (26*) (15*) (68*) (176*) & Condos* The majority of sales were in the lower end of each market. This is especially pronounced in Norwalk, where 458 of the 607 sales year to date, have been under $500,000 (these figures include Condominium sales). In Fairfield, 451 of the 588 sales have been under $800,000. 154 of the 327 sales in Westport, or nearly half, have been under $1,000,000. Another 'hot' area has been homes selling between $1,000,000-2,000,000, with a total of 132 homes sold in this price range. On the high end it is clear that the vast majority of sales over $2,000,000 have gone to Westport. Westport has had 61 sales over $2,000,000 and the next closest town is Fairfield with 13. In the $1,000,000-1,200,000 range Fairfield has had the most sales (40), but as a proportion of sales this price range has been strong in both Wilton & Weston. These two towns have also attracted many buyers seeking value below $1,200,000, with many buyers ending their home search in Weston & Wilton after originally looking in Westport, as well as points west (including Greenwich, Darien, New Canaan, & Westchester county).

May 2012 Update

Continued Strength and Vibrancy Although closed sales are lagging on a year to year basis all signs continue to point to 2012 as being an improvement on 2011, with increased numbers of homes and condos under escrow in all mid-Fairfield towns. In Westport there were 64 single family properties that went to escrow in May compared to only 43 in 2011. The median sold price rose slightly in May to $1,260,000, which was 5.9% higher than May 2011. The total inventory is running at levels almost identical to 2011. Condo sales in Westport have been running at levels almost identical to 2011, but properties under contract are up 18.5% and condo inventory is down 15.6%. With 5.2 months of inventory based on the current inventory level it looks like there is a shift in the condo marketplace. There have been instances of multiple offers for well-priced move-in condition properties. Weston contract sales are running behind 2011 levels, but with the number of properties currently under contract more than making up the difference in this shortfall, Weston’s market is positioned to have increased sales this year. May’s median price of $750,000 was identical to May 2011. Inventory levels are still high compared to historic levels, resulting in longer marketing times for homes to go to contract. The picture in Wilton shadows its neighbor, Weston, though with slightly more favorable results. Closed single family home sales in Wilton were up 11.9% over 2011 numbers. Homes under contract are up almost 60% compared to last year. The lower end of the market is dominating sales with the median price dipping slightly (-3.3%) year to date. Closed sales in the Wilton Condo market are down year to date from 11 in 2011 to 6 thus far in 2012. Three properties went to contract in May. Competition from low priced homes may be siphoning some of the potential buyers. Single family closed sales in Fairfield have been identical to 2011 numbers, but we are still seeing vibrant activity with 108 new escrows in May representing a 61% increase. May also saw a slight uptick in the median sales price of closed sales, though it is still down marginally (-3.3%) when compared to last year at this time. Inventory numbers are slightly higher. Fairfield condos have seen a big jump in activity year to date (+55.6%), but the median price of condos has decreased about 25%. Norwalk has seen closed sales of single family homes in May ahead of the levels achieved in the same month last year, though year to date the total is slightly behind 2011 levels. There were 109 properties that went to binder in May representing a 109% increase. The year-end numbers are still on pace to be ahead of 2011, and the median price is $1000 higher than last year. Condo sales in Norwalk were up slightly in May, and escrows are up 22.6% year to date, with closed sales off 12.2%. It is still looking like yearly totals will be an improvement over 2011 levels, but the current median sales price is down 10.8%. May did show signs of improvement in the median price, which increased by 5.5% to $256,000.

Big Jump in Activity in March, 2012

The month of March saw a significant increase in activity in all towns. In Westport new properties for sale increased by 27, a 9.6% increase. There have been 66 closed sales of single family homes, up 5 from 2011 figures, and representing an increase of 8.2%. There have been 104 properties that have gone to escrow thus far, representing a 5.8% increase.

The month’s supply of inventory, based on the current sales pattern, actually decreased by .1 months, equivalent to a drop of .7%. The median sales price of $1,277,500 was $77,500 higher than the same number at this time in 2011, marking a 6.8% increase.

The condo market in Westport saw the median sales price, year-to-date, increase 19.9% to $662,000. The number of new properties coming to the market has decreased 22.7%. The number of properties going to escrow is on the same pace as in 2011, but the current inventory now represents 5.1 months vs. 6.5 months at the end of the first quarter in 2011.

In Weston the first quarter median sales price was $625,000. At this time in 2011 it stood at $730,000. This represents a 14.4% decrease. New properties entering the market since January 1 have totaled 121 vs. 119 during the first quarter of 2011, virtually unchanged. However, this now represents 11 months of inventory vs. 20.7 month of inventory after the first quarter of 2011. The reason for this is that Weston saw a huge jump in properties entering escrow during the first three months of the year, and especially March, with 40 vs. 19-more than doubling the first quarter 2011 results!

Wilton, which has been trending above Weston for the past couple of years, had a first quarter median price of $699,000 vs. $732,000 for the same time period in 2011, a drop of 4.6%. New properties on the market increased by 5.6%, but Wilton also experienced a big jump in properties going to escrow, 64 vs. 41 last year, a 56.1% increase. The inventory levels have remained fairly stable in Wilton,
dipping to 9 months vs. 10.9 months in 2011.

Fairfield’s median price for the first quarter of 2012 was $500,000, down $22,000 from the 1st quarter of 2011. Fairfield has seen 212 properties entering escrow through the first quarter. This represents a 64.3% increase from the first quarter of 2011. The strength of the market remains in the area falling just above and below the median price. There is currently only 6.5 months of inventory vs. 9.8 after the first quarter of 2011, a drop of 33.9%.

Fairfield’s condo market has seen a 21.3% drop in the median price for the 1st quarter of 2012, now standing at $342,000. The number of properties in Inventory has dropped a little over 10%. Here again there was a big jump in properties going to binder and contract, with 29 year to date, as compared to only 12 at this time last year-a 141% increase! Current inventory now represents 6.9 months of condo inventory.

Norwalk has seen a slight dip in the median price of single family homes, now standing at $385,000. Home sales jumped significantly in March with 178 homes going to escrow. There were only 112 single family homes that entered escrow in the first quarter of 2011. Current inventory is at 6.5 months vs. 11 months after the first quarter of 2011.

The condo market in Norwalk also saw a nice increase, with 71 properties entering escrow in the first quarter of 2012 vs. 52 in the first quarter of 2011. Most of that jump occurred in March with 32 properties going to escrow. The median price of condos that entered escrow was $297,000. This was $37,000 higher than the median sales price, year to date, and the number of new condo properties coming to market dropped 27.2%. Current inventory now stands at 9.2 months, much more manageable than the 13.9 month inventory after the first quarter of 2011, a decrease of 34%.