By Judy Szablak
Special to WestportNow
Contemporary-style homes continue to hold a solid place in Westport’s real estate market as well as throughout Fairfield County. In fact, they seem to more “in vogue” than they have been for quite some time.
Featured Home: This home at 12 Stonybrook Road is listed at $1,350,000. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Photo courtesy of Coldwell Banker Westport Riverside
Currently, there are 49 homes available in Westport classified as being in this category.
Westport leads the 23 towns in Fairfield County in available inventory of contemporaries for sale, followed by Ridgefield (43), Stamford (41), Weston (37) and Norwalk (32).
However, just because we have a few more to choose from as opposed to other towns does not mean that this segment of the market isn’t as active as it should be. The market is certainly on par with the rest of the town.
At one time, and not so long ago, you could get much more of a home for the same money if you chose to purchase a contemporary, rather than a colonial, cape or perhaps a ranch.
Today, the prices are very close to the averages throughout town. Average market time only varies by two days. The average sale price to list price ratio is also so close to our overall average that the difference is negligible.
During the last year, 44 contemporary homes were sold in Westport, and their average price was $1,485,272.
Market Stats
Inventory continues to dwindle and at this time, there are 352 homes actively on the market. These properties have been listed for an average of 129 days, with a cumulative market time of 212 days. The average list price is now $2,290,294 and the median price is $1,799,000.
A home on Beachside Avenue is the highest priced property for sale at $32 million, and the lowest available priced single-family is a five-bedroom cape on Ferry Lane East for $439,900.
Seven new listings came on the market in the last seven days, and one property came back on the market after being under deposit, or temporarily withdrawn. Nineteen properties had a price change.
Nine properties have gone under the initial deposit stage, which we call CTS, and eight properties went into pending status, which means that the conditions have been satisfied, and the property is scheduled to close.
The average price of those eight properties was $1,243,613. There are currently 23 homes in CTS status throughout Westport, and another 43 properties scheduled to close town-wide, with an average price of $1,339,716.
Closings: There were 13 single-family homes reported as sold in the last week, and they were listed on average at $2,016,692 with an average market time of 108 days. There were 69 status changes in the last seven days.
Condos: There are 13 condominiums available, and they have been listed an average of 60 days. Their average listing price is $568,708 and the median price is $525,000.
The highest priced condo in town is listed at $899,000 and is a two-bedroom home at Regents Park, and the lowest priced unit for sale is a on- bedroom home on Bridge Street for $209,000.
There were no new listings this week, and no homes came back on the market, There were two price changes, no properties went under the initial stage of deposit, and no homes entered pending status.
There is one property town-wide that is currently in CTS status, and there is one property scheduled to close that is listed at $748,000.
No sales were reported during the last week. There were three status changes.
Rentals: If you are interested in renting year round, either furnished or unfurnished, there are 95 homes or apartments available. The median price is $5,900 per month and the average price is $6,601 per month. These year-round rental opportunities have been on the market an average of 59 days.
There are 42 short-term rental opportunities that are available, and they have been on the market an average of 85 days. Their average price is $12,246 and the median price is $8,688. 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: Market Data is compiled from the GFC-CMLS and represents activity through our local MLS system. Private sales are not included in these statistics.
Featured Home
This home at 12 Stonybrook Road is listed at $1,350,000.
This custom 10-room mid-century modern style masterpiece in the sought after Old Hill area of town was designed by Tony Ialeggio, and has an elegant and dramatic feel throughout.
Although the home was originally built in 1979, one would never know it. Over 4,800-square feet of cool and crisp living area has been beautifully remodeled and exceptionally maintained, and the sunlit and open spaces suit today’s needs perfectly.
A two-story great room has subtle angles and architecturally designed placement of graduated size windows above four separate sliding glass doors that lead out to an expansive 661-square foot wrap-around deck. A marble fireplace with raised hearth is the focal point of the room, and adds elegance and style.
The semi-open concept dining room has half walls and columns to both the foyer and sunken great room.
A sleekly designed European style white kitchen has granite countertops, new appliances, and a center island. Four strategically placed glass-front uppers for display also lend a distinctive modern flair.
Upstairs, an interior balcony overlooks the foyer on one side and the impressive great room on the other.
The master bedroom suite has a cathedral ceiling, and sliders to a 48-square foot balcony. The bath has dual sinks, a whirlpool and glass enclosed shower.
Three additional bedrooms are on the second floor, and an additional two bedrooms are in the walk-out lower level, which could be an exceptional au pair suite if so desired.
The lower level also features a large play room with fireplace, sliders out to the 405-square foot blue-stone patio and level 1.94-acre lushly landscaped property.
Schools—Kings Highway, Coleytown, Staples.
Extras and items to note—six bedrooms, three full and one half-baths,two fireplaces, security system, au pair suite in lower level walk-out.
Annual taxes are $15,169.
Listing/photo courtesy of Coldwell Banker Westport Riverside.
(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.
