A Closer Look at the Numbers

For those looking for a more detailed of the outlay of the 361 single family homes that sold in Westport during 2012, here is the breakdown by area-I used the elementary schools as criteria since different the different marketing areas that are provided by the Multiple Listing Service do not take into account the entire town. Pricepoint Greens Farms Saugatuck Long Lots Coleytown Kingshighway $0-500,000 2 4 4 3 5 $500,000-$1m 18 28 27 32 15 $1m-1.5m 16 20 21 18 13 $1.5-2m 15 15 19 8 8 $2m+ 23 4 20 13 6 TOTALS 74 75 91 74 47 Total sales were divided somewhat proportionately, with the largest elementary school, Long Lots, having the most sales with 91. Greens Farms and Long Lots had the most homes sold over $2 million. A majority of the sales in all areas were over $1 million.

2012 Mid Year Report

The pace of sales for the first six months of 2012 was similar to the same time period in the previous year, however, within the different towns, and different sub-sectors of the market there have been some subtle changes. In Westport the actual number of closings of single family homes through June 30th, 2012, was 168 compared to 184 in the previous year, a drop of 8.6%. However there are 230 properties that have gone to contract compared to 213 through June 30, 2011, an increase of 8%, basically offsetting the shortage of closings compared to 2011. That is to say that I expect that those sales figures will even out when the escrowed properties change title. The median sales price in Westport was $1,250,000, an increase of 9.2%, which was an indication of both higher numbers of sales on the higher end of the spectrum, as well as a limited inventory of ‘good’, i.e., move-in ready properties, which has boosted prices in the median range of the marketplace. 105 of the 168 single family homes that have passed title were sold for over $1,000,000. Homes requiring more updating on the lower end of the Westport marketplace have been more negatively impacted pricewise. New, and newer constructed homes have dominated the sales of properties in the high end (Over $2,000,000). Waterfront homes have moved more slowly in the high end, with increased inventory in neighboring markets. There has been an increase in showing activity in the past 6 weeks or so, as the weather has improved. Condo sales in Westport have seen an increase in the median sales price (currently $645,000), up 13.8%. Condo inventory has dropped over 20% year to date. There were 15 sales compared to 16 the previous year. Demand is strong, and the average marketing time has dropped by over 25%. Weston sales are down 11.7 year over year, but with a 29.8% increase in escrows that should translate into a sales rate that will outpace 2011. Closed sales are up by 17.6% in Wilton, and properties that have gone to contract are up by nearly 50%, so end of the year figures should go up considerably from 2011, though condo sales in Wilton are down slightly from last year, even though inventory has decreased. Fairfield’s numbers look similar to 2011 at first glance with sales up 3.1%, but with a 37% increase in properties in escrow, final sales numbers should be excellent. The median price has taken a hit though, with the current median price being $533,000. The lower end of the market has continued to dominate in Fairfield, though there has been a recent increase in high end activity. The condo market has also followed similar lines, with increased sales numbers, and a dropping median price ($312,000 year to date).

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%.