By Judy Szablak
Special to WestportNow
For sale signs are not necessarily indicative of the state of the market in Westport, nor do they represent all homes for sale in town.
Featured Home: This home at 22 Silver Brook Road is listed at $1,498,000. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Photo courtesy of Higgins Group Westport
When one drives around Westport looking for properties, they are apt to see many more homes that appear to be available for sale, but actually are not.
Conversely, there are also many homeowners that choose not to have a sign in the front yard.
Consider the fact that there are currently 280 homes for sale, and another 48 homes under some stage of deposit. Oftentimes, the for sale sign remains up until the time of closing, and there is not always a rider that makes it clear that the home is in fact under deposit.
Additionally, approximately 14 percent of the available properties do not have a “For Sale” sign, along with another 15 percent that are under some stage of deposit that still have a sign in the front yard.
Essentially, those two factors together create a nearly 30 percent margin for error if one was to judge the market by signs alone.
It is also important to note that an abundance of a real estate company’s signs, (or lack thereof) does not indicate their success in the marketplace.
Closed sales do. In other words, one could easily have a skewed perception of the market in general.
Even online sources are not as current as one would hope, as there is lag time between reporting, and how that reporting trickles through to different websites.
Make no mistake. Signs play an important part to a home’s visibility within the marketplace.
The best way to ascertain what is truly available, and/or under deposit is to work with an agent with their pulse on the market.
Market Stats
There are now 280 homes on the market, which have been listed for an average of 143 days, with a cumulative market time of 254 days. The average list price is $2,235,846 and the median price is $1,749,000.
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 $299,900.
Ten 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the market in the last seven days, and no properties came back on the market after being under deposit, or temporarily withdrawn. Thirteen properties had a price change.
Five properties have gone under the initial deposit stage, which we call CTS, and another three 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 three pending properties was $1,114,500. There are currently 23 homes in CTS status throughout Westport, and another 24 properties scheduled to close town-wide, with an average price of $1,225,809.
Closings: There were 12 single family homes reported as sold in the last week, and they were listed on average at $1,654,983 with an average market time of 120 days. There were 62 status changes in the last seven days.
Condos: There are 12 condominiums that are available, and they have been listed an average of 94 days. Their average listing price is $617,917 and the median price is $587,000.
The highest priced condo in town is listed at $1,150,000 and is a three-bedroom home at Regents Park, and the lowest priced unit for sale is a two-bedroom home on Hills Lane for $319,000.
There was one new listing this week, and one home came back on the market. There was one price change, and one property went under the initial stage of deposit. No homes entered pending status.
There are three properties town-wide that are currently in CTS status, and there are three properties scheduled to close.
One sale was reported during the last week, and was listed at $425,000. There were six status changes.
Rentals: If you are interested in renting year round, either furnished or unfurnished, there are 67 homes or apartments available. The median price is $4,100 per month and the average price is $6,372 per month.
These year-round rental opportunities have been on the market an average of 85 days.
There are 31 short-term rental opportunities that are available, and they have been on the market an average of 83 days. Their average price is $9,176 and the median price is $4,900.
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 22 Silver Brook Road is listed at $1,498,000.
This 10-room colonial cape in the Coleytown area was recently chosen as a “Dream Home” by HGTV’s The Property Brothers, and has a wonderfully open floor plan with the perfect amount of transitional flair.
Originally built in 1950, this 4,116-square foot home was torn down and three finished levels were completely rebuilt in 2016 by the HOBI award-winning team.
The living room features a stunning fireplace, and the dining room is open to the kitchen creating an easy, open flow.
A spacious designer white kitchen has marble counters, and a Carrera backsplash along with stainless steel appliances. The center island seats three comfortably.
Two skylights and two walls of windows in the family room overlook the scenic one acre property.
A hard-to-find first floor master bedroom suite has 9-foot ceilings and a large marble bath with dual vanities, separate tub and generously sized glass enclosed shower.
There are three bedrooms on the second floor, and one is en suite.
A 29-foot long finished recreation room is in the lower level, and there is still plenty of room for storage in the unfinished area.
A wonderful opportunity to live in a new home in an established neighborhood
Extras and items to note—four bedrooms, three full and one half baths, main level office, generator, room for pool.
Listing/photo courtesy of Higgins Group Westport.
Annual taxes are $9,141.
(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.
