The house at 34 Harbor Road in Westport’s Saugatuck Shores area has been demolished. Built in 1950, the one-story ranch had 1,758 square feet was situated on a .26-acre property and changed ownership in January at $1,050,000. It was the WestportNow Teardown of the Day on Jan. 10, 2011. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

The house at 80 Compo Road North was demolished today. Built in 1945, the 1 3/4-story cape had 2,418 square feet, was situated on a 1.51-acre property and changed ownership in May for $975,000. It was the WestportNow Teardown of the Day on April 22, 2011. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

By Judy Szablak

A review of recent numbers shows Westport’s real estate market has been fairly steady with a noticeable improvement over the last year and just a few minor bumps. 
The house at 28 Grassy Plains Road is for sale for $1,395,000. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Photo courtesy of William Pitt Sotheby’s Westport

There are currently 345 single family homes on the market through our MLS system. The absorption rate—a measure of the pace of home sales—has increased since this time last year, and the median price has edged up slightly. A 95 percent sales price to list price ratio has remained fairly constant throughout the year.

Over the last three months, according to the MLS, there have been 127 sales reported with a median list price of $1,499,000 and a median sales price of $1,200,000. The sales price to list price ratio is 96.15 percent.

Average market time for listings during this period is 89 days, and the average market time for the sales reported during this period was 59 days.

By Judy Szablak

The latest S&P Case-Shiller Index monthly housing report is just out and shows some promise nationally, something we have seen reflected for quite a while in the Westport real estate market.
This newly built Compo colonial on 11 Edgewater Hillside is listed for $2,495,000. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Photo courtesy of Westport Residential, Owner/Broker

For the second month since recording a double-dip in home prices, the index has shown a slight gain nationally. Sixteen of the 20 metro areas in the report, including the New York City metro area, have reported positive monthly increases.

While the numbers as compared to last year’s report at this time are down, it most probably is due to federal home buyer tax credits that were in place at that time, which boosted the activity last year.

David Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee, does caution that the current gains we are experiencing may be seasonal. The index does reflect a large area, and Westport tends to fare better than its neighbors.