By Judy Szablak

The good news: we have just surpassed last year’s year to date sales The not so good news: it doesn’t appear that we will exceed 2010’s year-end sales figures.

This home at 5 Windy Hill Road in Westport is listed at $2,599,000. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Photo courtesy of William Raveis Exceptional Properties, Westport.

It’s not all dismal though. There is still a small window of opportunity left, and it should be close, based upon the amount of reported sales and reported pending properties.

The dwindling of available inventory may have a lot to do with it, and may have even hurt our last quarter of 2011.  We have continued to see that seasonal drop in available homes over the last month or so.

What happens is that as the year winds down, and the holidays approach, some homeowners choose to wait until after the holidays are over to begin the process of moving. 

The house at Westport’s 23 Burnham Hill, in the Compo Beach area, was demolished today. Built in 1956, the one-story split level had 1,505 square feet, was situated on a .37-acre property and changed ownership last month at $1,150,000. It was the WestportNow Teardown of the Day on July 27, 2011. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

By Judy Szablak

The number of bedrooms in your home has a direct correlation to its pricing and to its marketability. What you may not know is that the number of bedrooms in your home also represents a segment of the market with its own forecast.

This home at 5 Sea Spray Road in the Saugatuck Shores area is listed at $2,950,000. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Photo courtesy of William Raveis /Michelle & Co.

According to the National Association of Realtors report that came out just four days ago, home sales are predicted to edge up by 1 percent by the end of this year, and be stronger in 2012.

Its chief economist, Lawrence Yun, says that next year would mark the beginning of the market recovery with a rise in sales of somewhere between 4 to 5 percent. Let’s hope so.

A few weeks ago, we heard from chief economists who expected further decline. There are so many predictions about the real estate market next year they make one wonder where these experts get their information from, or maybe more importantly, how they interpret it.

An application for a permit to demolish the house at Westport’s 26 Buena Vista Drive, in the Compo Beach area, is in process. Built in 1954, the 1-3/4 story cape has 2,587 square feet and is situated on a .19-acre property.  Because the house was built more than 50 years ago, the application will be reviewed by the Westport Historic District Commission.  A fire in the early morning of Sept. 4 severely damaged the house. (See WestportNow Sept. 4, 2011)  (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com