Why Some Buyers Don't want to Buy your house

Today’s buyers are more and more savvy about what is going on in the real estate market, most specifically about how long a house has been on the market, what it was originally listed for, and what it has sold for in the past. Thanks to websites like Zillow and Trulia much of this information is readily available.                                                                

Last year in Westport there were 433 single family home sales-a very respectable number.  What is often not realized is that in 2017 there were 215 single family listings that Expired before sale (with a median price of $1,495,000).  In addition, there were 249 Cancellation of listings (with a median price of $1,679,000). 

Looking at the pricing breakdown in more detail offers some interesting insights.  In the past 12 months there have been 176 properties sold that were listed under $1,000,000, and a total of 126 Expireds and Cancellations.  In other words almost 60% of the properties sold.

In the range of $1,000,000-1,500,000 there were 113 solds and 112 expireds and cancellations, or about 50% sold.

For properties listed between $1,500,000 and $2 million there were 94 solds and 85 expireds/canc. meaning that the odds of a house in this price range selling (53%) was actually higher than those listed between $1 million-1.5 million.

Between $2m and $2.5million, the percentages dropped slightly with 43 sales and 46 expireds and cancellations. That represents a 48% sales rate.

For homes listed between $2.5 million up to $3 million, ther were 24 sales and 42 expireds/cancellations, representing roughly a 35% success rate.

Not surprisingly,(because the buyer pool is smaller)  the success rate drops for homes listed at over $3 million.  There were 28 homes listed for over $3 million that sold last year and 72 expireds/cancellations representing a 28% success rate.

Many of these listings will come back to the market as new listings, and some are currently among the 242 current active listings.  The reason that the majority of these homes did not sell is due to several factors, though it usually boils down to two.  The first is presentation-whether the home compares favorably to similar homes on the market.  The second is price.

For those that would like to learn more I give a class at Staples high School twice a year re; How to Avoid the Costly Pitfalls when selling your home, in the spring and fall, or give me a call directly and I would be happy to look at your home and give you a free consultation.  

The Luxury Market: Buyers vs.Sellers

The definition of a luxury house has changed over the years, but for the sake of our purposes in Westport, we generally refer to homes selling for over $2 million as falling into that category. Of the 382 single family properties currently on the market, half of the homes are listed at $ 2 m + and 71 are asking $3 million or more, with 37% of them in the Greens Farms/Compo area.
For those readers who may be thinking of selling in the near future, here are some things to keep in mind when listing your home.
Today’s buyers have access to much more information than you may have had when you bought your home. They will likely establish a list of homes that fit their ‘must-haves’ and then try to see as many of these homes as possible.
Many of these buyers are very comfortable with an Excel spreadsheet and they will then break them down by categories beyond the basic bedrooms, baths, and square footage, into subcategories such as yard features, curb appeal, special features, privacy, sports features, lower level amenities, etc. Emotional buying is being replaced by value buying.
Many of us focus on the interior changes that we’ve made to our homes. Don’t overlook the first things that potential buyers may see. Repair any cracks in driveways or broken Belgian blocks. Power wash walkways, patios and decks, mulch the flower beds, and make sure that exterior paint looks fresh.



4 Hilandale road listed at $2,400,000

Best Value in Waterfront Real Estate

TUCKED IN BEHIND WOODEN GATES SITS 'CREEK'S END', A 4 BR 3 BATH COLONIAL. THIS UPDATED HOME HAS ONE OF PINE CREEK'S DEEPEST DOCKS. GREAT VIEWS OF LI SOUND AND PINE CREEK. NO WATER DAMAGE FROM STORMS. SEE ADDENDUM FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. BEAUTIFUL GARDENS. SOLID DOCK. 5 MINUTE WALK TO PINE CREEK AVE. BEACH. PLAYGROUND ON STREET. EASY WALK TO PAR 3 GOLF COURSE AND TENNIS COURTS. 200+ ACRE PROTECTED WILDLIFE RESERVE ACROSS THE STREET WITH ONE AND A HALF MILES OF TRAILS. 5 MINUTE DRIVE TO DOWNTOWN FAIRFIELD AND TRAIN STATION. KITCHEN AND BATHS UPDATED. VERY PRIVATE SETTING. FLOOD INSURANCE AS OF 6/25/13 IS $738/YR.

444 PINE CREEK AVENUE  FAIRFIELD, CT
LISTED AT $999,000

Buyers should Pay attention to the New drop in Mortgage rates

I have an admission to make.  I just refinanced my house in December at 4.125%.  I thought
that I was getting a very good rate, especially since many economists were predicting that the Fed
would raise rates at some point this year. 

Then OIL rates dropped!  That has now been followed by interest rates for 30 year mortgages
going down to 3.5%.  This is over a 10% decrease!  I'm not a mortgage broker, but it seems logical to think that if the rates go down 10%, a buyer should be able to afford homes that are 10% more expensive. 

The signs seem to be trending in that direction.  Despite the cold and the snow homes in the lower price ranges are being shown at a healthy rate, and homes in the $million range are getting offers
within a week if they are in excellent locations or in excellent condition. 

The Superbowl is often the start of our spring season when the weather cooperates.  This year,
we seem to be going in that direction despite the snow.

I don't think that I'll be refinancing, but tell your friends who are looking for a home that they should take advantage of these rates before we start seeing price increases-a likely result if these rates stay
so low.

Late Summer Activity-Going into Fall

It is hard to believe how quickly the summer went. Maybe it was the rainy June that brought us slowly into summer, or the blistering days of July that made us want to not think about summer, leaving us with the month of August with its mixed weather. In any case, it is now officially autumn, and kids are back in school. The beginning of September with back to school and end of summer vacations is traditionally a slow period in real estate, and there were fewer new listings coming to the market. We're now seeing some homes that came off the market in the summer coming back to the market along with a sprinkling of new inventory. We're also seeing quite a few price reductions from homes that have been on the market for some time. The activity in general continues to be moving toward more historic levels in terms of total number of sales. I often watch what's going on in new construction as an indicator of local builder confidence. Westport has the most active market for new construction in Southwest Fairfield County. Thus far in 2013 there have been 53 new homes sold in Westport, compared to 43 at this time last year, representing a 25% increase. There are also 16 new homes under contract. In addition, there are 49 new homes being marketed at this time. About half of those homes are in the early stages of development. We will most likely also see some additional inventory in the early spring for new homes. At this rate, it looks like builders are figuring that there will be an increase of new home sales for 2014. These figures also don't take into account some custom homes that do not enter the Multiple Listing service. One of the trends that we've seen the last couple of years, and continue to see, are new homes being built on smaller lots. These properties often have access to city sewer and city water, making construction easier for builders, and allowing homes to fall into more affordable price ranges. Though the numbers in August were below those seen in the very brisk spring market, almost all towns saw an increase in the number of properties that went to contract, up significantly (more than 50%) in all towns except Weston which saw its number of 23 in August 2012 fall to 21 in 2013. Year to date though, Weston has seen a 52.5% increase (year to date) of overall sales. Changes in Mortgage rates do not seem to have overly affected the number of sales. On the price side, it may have had some impact on the average sales prices. The median sales prices are just about where they were a year ago, when looking at overall statistics.