By Judy Szablak

New procedures for real estate closings are likely to impact transactions in Westport and across the nation.

Featured Home This townhouse at 230 Saugatuck Ave. is listed at $648,500. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Photo courtesy of Coldwell Banker Westport-Riverside

The rules, mandated by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, became effective Saturday. They are designed to help borrowers understand the terms of their home financing transaction.

A notable change under the new regulations is a mandatory disclosure that requires a three-day waiting period before a borrower can close on a mortgage loan.

This can create last minute snags based upon final walk through issues, or inspections concerns that have not been addressed prior to the closing.

The owner of the historic 1764-built house at 93 Cross Highway is the recipient of two preservation honors, one local and one national award. The local award, an historical plaque from the Westport Historical Society (WHS) designating the house as a local historic landmark and a national award listing the house on the National Register of Historic Places. The homeowner, Ed Gerber, vice chair of the Historic District Commission (HDC) and president of the Westport Historical Society (WHS), purchased the house in 2010. The historic house is known today as the Eliphalet Sturges 1764-1767 and George Hand Wright 1907-1951 House. (See WestportNow May 24, 2015) Presenting the awards (l-r) Bob Weingarten, WHS house plaque historian, Gerber, and First Selectman Jim Marpe. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

By Judy Szablak

Real estate values in Westport show that prices have remained relatively level year-over-year. This fact is interesting to note, as for the first time in a long time, Westport has not mirrored or exceeded Case-Shiller’s national index.

Featured Home: This home at 8 Sherwood Farms Lane is listed at $1,439,000. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Photo courtesy of William Pitt Sotheby’s/Westport

Comparing our figures to Case-Shiller’s latest report released Tuesday, the national averages enjoyed a 4.7 percent gain. While we did not experience a gain in prices, we certainly saw significant improvement in unit sales as well as decreased market time.

There were 43 sales in this time period in 2014 with an average price of $1,570,145 and an average market time of 101 days.

The same time period this year brought us 61 sales with a reduction of market time to just 88 days, and the average price remained fairly level at $1,534,223. The increase in unit sales is certainly a bright spot for our real estate market.

Construction at the former site of Geiger’s Garden Center, 1135 Post Road East, Westport is taking shape. A landmark, family-owned business at the 2.5-acre property since 1953, Geiger’s was sold last year for $2.44 million to make way for redevelopment to include 12 housing units, eight two-bedroom and four one-bedroom units including two affordable, as well as a bank in the front. (See WestportNow, March 16, 2015) (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com