By Judy Szablak
Special to WestportNow
Lots of brand-new listings to choose from this year in Westport already. Or not?
Featured Home: This home at 4 Scofield Place is listed at $1,099,000. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Photo courtesy of William Raveis Westport/The Fair Group.
Some of our new inventory this year is not new to the market at all, as our MLS is not easily outwitted.
It just seems that homeowners, buyers and agents alike all seem to get caught up in the “days on market” totals, as sellers sometimes remove a home from the market just so that these figures don’t accumulate and make a home appear “stale” in the marketplace, and so that buyers don’t unfairly judge on the number.
This kind of thing happens a lot in January and February, as homeowners re-list their homes after taking them off the market for the holiday season, with the thought of starting fresh with the new year, and removing the cumulative days on market data from the home’s marketing, which does not always turn out as expected.
According to our local and statewide listing source known as SmartMLS, 96 properties have been listed since the beginning of the year, yet just 53 of them are actually new to the marketplace, and have not been listed for sale previously.
The one fact that most forget is that as of today, a home that was listed as late as Nov. 7, 2018 will show a cumulative market time including the prior listing, so if the intent was to show a clean slate, it won’t happen.
Cumulative market time automatically calculates if the property had been listed and was subsequently canceled or expired within 90 days before the new listing input date. The cumulative “clock” starts at zero on the 91st day.
If one’s thought is to disengage the onset of that accumulation, the 90-day time period precludes it from being of any benefit when you still want to sell, as it doesn’t help in the way that you think that it would.
One could miss their best window of opportunity with a buyer who could be very interested and place an acceptable offer on your house, but won’t see your home as an option, because it’s not available for sale.
Market Stats
There are now 279 homes that are actively on the market, which is up by 54 properties from last year at this time.
These currently available properties have been listed for an average of 129 days, with a cumulative market time of 239 days. The average list price has remained fairly consistent over the past 30 days at $2,119,672 and the median price is at $1,599,000 which is slightly up, but still down over from $1,775,000 a year ago at this time.
Thirty new listings came on the market in the last seven days, and no properties came back on the market after being under deposit, or temporarily withdrawn, which is an increase of eight properties over last year of these changes. There were five properties in the past week that had a price adjustment.
A Tudor-style home on 114 Beachside Ave. is the highest priced property listed for sale at $22.5 million and is an 8,482-square foot waterfront property comprised of three lots on 7.267 acres with 365 feet of waterfront.
The lowest available priced single family is an 1,770-square foot four-bedroom colonial needing some cosmetic improvements on 4 Davenport Ave. that was built in 1900 and is listed at $399,000.
Twelve homes have gone under some stage of deposit, including 7 Barbara Place which is a 912-square foot ranch in the Hunt Club area on .34 acres, listed at $499,000 and had a market time of only 14 days.
There are currently 14 homes under the initial stage of deposit townwide, and another 19 scheduled to close. The number of homes that are under the initial stage of deposit is similar to that of last year, however the pending sales are still down significantly from last year at this time.
Closings: There were four sales reported during the last week, and the highest priced sale occurred at 36 Otter Trail which is a 10-room direct waterfront home with five bedrooms, four bedrooms, three fireplaces and a dock that was originally listed at $2,350,000, was reduced twice to $2,185,000, and sold at $1,975,000 after 285 days on the market at 90.39 percent of its final asking price.
Condos: There are 11 condominiums that are currently available, and they have been listed an average of 85 days, which is up by one property from this time last year. The average price is $591,555 and the median price remains at $679,000. The average price is down over $180,000 from last year at this time, it is more indicative of what properties are on the market, and not of a drop in value.
There was one new listing entered in the last seven days, and no properties came back on the market. No properties had a price change, and two homes entered the initial deposit stage.
The highest priced condo in town is listed in the Terra Nova gated community for $1,075,000, and is a three-bedroom, two and one-half bath home with 9-foot ceilings and has 3,005-square feet of living area located at 30 Terra Nova Circle, and the lowest priced unit for sale is a one-bedroom unit with 742-square feet on 35 Bridge St. at The Saugatuck, which is an adult complex and listed at $199,000.
There are two properties currently under the initial stage of deposit townwide which both took a deposit this week. Both homes were listed at $699,000; One is a 1,291-square foot town house at the Riverside Green complex, and the other was a two-bedroom unit at Lansdowne with 2,050-square feet.
Two properties sold this last week, including a 682-square foot one-bedroom home at 35 Bridge St. that closed at $156,000, and a 2,450-square foot two-bedroom unit at Lansdowne that closed at $820,000.
Rentals: If you are interested in renting year round, either furnished or unfurnished, there are 62 homes or apartments available. The highest priced annual rental is a 7,629-square foot home with outstanding water views was designed by Laurent Dupont and built by the renowned Hobbs LLC.
The architecturally significant 15-room colonial has five bedrooms and is located at 4 Bluewater Lane. The home is being offered at $20,000 per month. The property is also available for sale at $7,950,000
The lowest priced rental is listed as a 350-square foot two-room apartment for $1,200 monthly and is located at 19 Hale St.
The median price for townwide annual rentals is currently $4,350, and is over $1,500 less than it was at this time last year, and the average price is $5,457 per month, which is also down by over $600 a month from last year at this time. These year-round rental opportunities have been on the market an average of 73 days.
There are 41 short-term rental opportunities that are available, and the highest priced homes are a 7,629-square foot with five bedrooms on 4 Bluewater Lane, and a six-bedroom colonial at 16 Burr Farms Road which are both summer rentals listed at $40,000.
Seasonal rentals currently have an average price is $12,803 and a median price of $8,500, with an average market time of 110 days. Please note that seasonal rental prices are sometimes listed as an aggregate price for the season, or they can be listed as per the monthly rental cost.
Source — Listing information and data is compiled from the SmartMLS and represents listings and activity through our statewide MLS system. Private sales are not included in these statistics.
Featured Home
This home at 4 Scofield Place is listed at $1,099,000.
This three-bedroom waterfront colonial has 180 degree vistas of Saugatuck Harbor and spectacular sunrise/sunset views every day of the year.
Originally built in 1938, and entirely rebuilt in 1992, this 1,800-square foot home was specifically designed to maintain privacy on its .19-acre lot, while taking full advantage of its immediate surrounding panoramas.
The great room has cathedral ceilings, a fireplace and two sets of sliders that lead out to the 321-square foot new balcony overlooking the harbor.
A skylit designer white galley kitchen with radiant heated flooring has top of the line stainless steel appliances including a gas stove and double ovens. A two-tiered granite counter also doubles as a breakfast bar that seats three and is open to the great room, which has a dining alcove with banquette seating.
Two bedrooms are on the main level and share a bath, as well as a den with dry bar and outstanding views.
The master bedroom suite with tremendous views is located on second floor and has a full bath with glass enclosed shower, radiant heated floors and a walk-in closet with built-ins.
The loft has an interior balcony and is well suited for an office or additional place of respite.
Outside, the professionally designed landscaping creates a private perimeter and includes a bluestone patio around a stacked stone fireplace with sitting wall and a separate bluestone terrace for dining.
Extras and items to note — three bedrooms, two full and one-half baths, audio system, central vacuum system, public water and sewer, radiant heated floors in kitchen and baths, two zone heating with new furnace and tankless hot water heater, new roof, one car garage and four parking spaces, mooring option.
Annual taxes are $10,917.
Listing/photo courtesy of William Raveis Westport/The Fair Group.
(Editor’s Note: Judy Szablak of Coldwell Banker Westport — Riverside, Fairfield County CT Realtor since 1984 is author of “The Art of Buying or Selling a Home,” and featured on HGTV’s real estate show, “Desperate to Buy.” Email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or visit her online at http://www.CThomesAndRealEstate.com.
