By Judy Szablak

Single family home sales in Westport are substantially ahead of the national real estate market averages on a year over year basis for the month of May.

This home at 59 Cavalry Road is listed at $2,225,000. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Photo courtesy of William Raveis Real Estate/Westport

According to the National Association of Realtors latest report, which clearly denotes a unit sales increase of 12.9 percent over last May, Westport’s numbers come in significantly better—almost 69 percent. In May of last year, we saw 32 single family home sales, and May 2013 brought us 54 closings, as reported by our local MLS.

Just as prices are up nationally, prices are also up locally. The national sales price average has increased 15.4 percent, and locally, we’ve experienced an upsurge as well. The average sales price last month was just under $1.95 million, which would equate to an increase of more than $400,000 from the same time period in 2012, and that is excluding a significant property sale of $20 million.

But, does that mean that prices have truly gone up that much in town?  In short, don’t be so sure on that.

By Neena Satija and Michael Gambina

www.ctmirror.org

As Connecticut’s shoreline braces for a hurricane season forecast to be one of the worst in years, it is still digging out from the damage of previous storms.

This home on Spriteview Ave. in Westport’s Saugatuck Shores area is one of dozens that have been raised in Westport since Storm Sandy. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Along entire stretches of coastline in Fairfield and Milford, rows of homes are boarded up, some marked for demolition with thick red paint. Many have already been reduced to rubble.

These coastal neighborhoods are also busy with construction activity. Workers are raising and expanding existing homes, or building large, taller homes in the place of old ones.

The interweaving of tearing down homes and rebuilding, or simply building anew, tells the story of neighborhoods in transition.

Click here for more of story

By Judy Szablak

The condo sales market has certainly rebounded compared to the beginning of the year. And closed sales have increased significantly from the first quarter of 2013.

This condominium at 20 Terra Nova Circle is listed at $1,350,000. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Photo courtesy of Halstead Property-Westport.

What may be no secret to some is that during the first quarter of 2013, there was only one condo sale in January. Also, according to the local MLS, not one closing occurred in either February or March.

Thankfully, the market has been heating up, and second quarter of 2013 brought us seven closings thus far, and another eight are in some stage of deposit. That’s great news when sales from the beginning of the year had looked so dismal, at best.

If we look back to last year, we had 15 closings during the first half of 2012, and by the end of this month, we should be very close to that for 2013. Considering that we had two months of no activity at all,  evidence of a rebounding condo market is emerging, even if some of the activity is due in part to the season.

By James Lomuscio

Westport’s Historic Resources Inventory describes the circa 1900 wooden building at 535 Post Road East as “unusual for having survived relatively intact” on one of the town’s major commercial strips.

Terrain withdraw an application that called for demolition of the house at 535 Post Road East. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Today, preservationists are celebrating yet another survival for the structure.

The building had been eyed for the wrecking ball by Terrain. But the retailer today—hours before it was scheduled to go before the Historic District Commission (HDC) tonight, and the Planning and Zoning Commission on Thursday (P&Z)—pulled its controversial site plan application that called for the demolition of house to net eight parking spaces at its sprawling greenhouse/cafe home center.

“They’re going to be submitting a revised plan later this week that provides an additional 29 parking spaces, but saves the house,” said Planning and Zoning Director Laurence Bradley.