Westport Has Plenty to Brag About

While driving around Westport with a new client this weekend, I found myself spewing off all the great accolades Westport and our schools have received over the years. I suddenly had a desire to write them down in one place and share my findings! Of course our schools are the best in the state, we already know that, but did you know our community was considered tops for health too? I don’t have a child in the YMCA Gymnastics program, so I was exceptionally pleased to see their success rate as well.

• #1 Best Overall Academic Performance in CT – Staples High School– Bloomberg/BusinessWeek

• Rating 10 out of 10 – Staples High School – Great Schools Ratings

• 2012 America’s Best High School list #234 (Staples) from list of top 1000 picked from 24,000 secondary public and private schools in the US – Newsweek

• #1 Staples High School - Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now

• Top 5 High School in state including public and private – US News and World Report

• #1 High School in state – Connecticut Magazine

• Staples High School ranked as an ‘elite” school amongst public and private schools in the nation – Wall Street Journal

• Staples High School – 5 out of 5 ranking – School Digger

• AAA rating for the town based on a stable outlook – Moody’s May 2012

• 3rd Healthiest state in the US Health Ranking - State of Connecticut – United Health Federation

• #1 Town in the state – cited for Westport Schools, leisure activity. Relatively low tax rate, low crime rate – even though it noted that its high cost of living was a negative – Rate our towns edition of Connecticut Magazine

• #1 Best Crime Rate and#1 for Best Cities for Teleworking – Best Places to live in Connecticut

• #15 Most Secure places to live in the US – Farmer’s Insurance

• Best School Newspaper in the State – Inklings - Staples High School Paper – Hartford Courant

• #3 in the Nation – Westport/Weston YMCA Gymnastic Program – competed in the US Gymnastics Federation all Champion Challenge and in 2011 competed in the World Gymnaestrata in Switzerland representing the US – noted as the only YMCA in the nation invited to take part in the World Games.

I know that Westport can boast so many more top rankings. If you know of any that should be included, we would all like to know! Post them on my blog and I will update the list in a future column.

Skolnick's Scoop on Westport's Market Oct.1, 2012

What’s really happening in Westport’s Real Estate market so far this year? Buyers seem to believe that prices are finally steady 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 2011 to 2012 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 321* houses on the market in Westport, with an average list price of $1,829,552. The most expensive home listed for sale is priced at $27,500,000., located on Beachside Avenue, owned by two of Westport’s most famous residents, offering 6.56 acres, a 8716 square foot main house plus a free standing gym on over 2 acres and 420 feet of direct waterfront access. The least expensive home on the market in Westport is listed for $309,000. on Crescent Park Road with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and a fireplace in 1152 square feet on .12 acre .

In 2012, 277 homes have closed (sold) year to date, with a median list price of $1,485,000., and a median sales price of $1,225,000. The most expensive home sold in 2012 in Westport closed for $5,250,000. It is new construction located on Minute Man Hill on 1.23 acre, offering 7600 square feet, an in-ground pool and walking distance to the beach. The least expensive sale was $390,000., located on Frescenius Road.

In 2011, during the same time period, 286 homes also sold in Westport. With a median list price of $1,399,000, and median sales price of $1,085,625 . The most expensive home sold last year during the same time period closed for $6,300,000 on Bluewater Hill Road. The home featured sweeping views of the sound, a pool, 7500 square foot house on 1 acre with tennis courts as part of the Bluewater Hill association.

Typically, the most closings happen in May, June, July and August , and in 2012 it was no different. During May 32 homes closed, June 54, July 49, August 39 and last month, in September 22 homes closed. These stats are similar to 2011, when in May 42 homes closed, June 54, July 36, August 43 and September 26 homes closed. Although we are on par with last year, we do still have quite a bit of inventory. As of October 1, there are 369 homes on the market with a total market volume of $788,304,205. Currently we have 17 months of inventory available for sale compared to the same time period in 2011 when we had 15 months of inventory available to sell.

The bottom line, the Westport Market is alive! Properties 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 median dollar listing amount of active homes compared to the median 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 October 1, 2012.