My Scoop on the Market - November 2011

What’s really happening in Westport’s Real Estate market so far this year? Buyers seem to believe that prices are still going down while sellers are sure prices are on their way up. Of course, without a crystal ball, no one can truly tell the future, however, based on a comparison of 2010 to 2011 sales, the market is certainly stable, with great values for buyers. Current values are estimated to be close to those in 2003. Anyone who purchased a home after 2003 who is selling now should expect to lose money on the sale side, but hopefully recoup the loss when they buy another home. Interest lending rates continue to be historically low, but the time period to receive a mortgage commitment from a bank is considerably longer than in the past, often taking a few months instead of a few weeks. Presently there are 310* houses on the market in Westport, with an average list price of $2,114,976, and an average market time of 145 days (which doesn’t mean everything, since homes could have be re-listed and the market time then restarts at 0). The most expensive home listed for sale is priced at $24,950,000., located on Beachside Avenue, offering 4 acres, a 10,000 square foot house, included are a 2 bedroom guest house and a 2 bedroom gate house, garage space for 9 cars and 215 feet of direct waterfront access. The least expensive home on the market in Westport is listed for $399,000. on Oakview Circle with 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths in 1104 square feet on .1 acre . In 2011, 316 homes have closed (sold) year to date, with an average market time of 104 days, an average list price of $1,449,930., and an average sales price of $1,360,326. The most expensive home sold in 2011 in Westport closed for $6,300,000. It is located on Bluewater Hill on 1 acre, offering 7500 square feet and water views. The least expensive sale was $215,000., located on Crescent Park Road. In 2010, during the same time period, 316 homes also sold in Westport. Average market time was 100 days with an average list price of $1,540,212., and an average sales price of $1,435,443. The most expensive home sold last year during the same time period closed for $20,000,000 on 6 acres of waterfront property with 7 bedrooms and 9 full and 4 half baths. The most active price range is the $1,000,000-$1,499,999 range with 69 homes sold this year. There are 6 homes with accepted offers in the range and 65 active listings. The second busiest price range is the $1,500,000 - $1,999,999 with 52 homes sold year to date, 56 active and 0 bindered. Nine homes are active at the $6,000,000 and up range with 2 sold year date. The bottom line, the Westport Market is alive! Properties at all price points are selling when priced correctly. Our buyers in Westport are well educated. They know the market, and are not willing to overpay. Based on the average dollar listing amount of active homes compared to the average of actual sold listings this year, it appears that we have a large quantity of overpriced listings. The market will not allow you to under price your home (the price will be bid up by savvy buyers), but the market will allow you to hold on to your overpriced listing for years! Price it right and be ready to negotiate. *These statistics are based on the homes listed for sale through the Greater-Fairfield County Multiple Listing Service as of November 14, 2011.