Spring brings cha-ching to housing market

4/16/2015
Spring brings cha-ching to housing market - NewsTimes
Traffic
Weather
FAQ
Subscriber services
Access digital edition
Register
Sign In
Thursday, April 16, 2015
newstimes.com
Home
Local
News
Sports
Police Reports
Business
Regional
Entertainment
National
World
CT
46°F Danbury,Clear
Businesses
Living
Politics
Obituaries
Opinion
Blogs
Classifieds
Science and Technology
Jobs
Homes
Rentals
Cars
Index ▼
Extreme Weather
Spring brings cha-ching to housing market
Warmer temperatures, low interest rates attract homebuyers
Published 10:50 pm, Wednesday, April 15, 2015
7 of 11
You Might Also Like
The Dirty Secret About Open
Houses: They’re Not About
Selling Houses
(realtor.com)
This New App is Replacing
Human Financial Advisors (PC Magazine)
31 things that only New Yorkers
would ever put up with
(Time Out ‐ New York)
The Top Five Signs Your Identity
Has Been Stolen
(The Center for Identity)
Kim Gifford is a real estate agent in the Danbury, Conn. office of William Pit Sotheby's International Realty. Photographed
Wednesday, April 15, 2015. Photo: Carol Kaliff Buy this photo
Drivers Feel Stupid For Not
Knowing This New Rule
(ImproveInsurance.com)
Susan Coyle says her Real Estate Two agents
can feel it, whether at her original office in
Shelton or in Fairfield where the firm opened its
newest location two months ago.
Buyers are out in force, armed with low interest
rates, and sellers appear ready to make a deal, if
not quite at the prices they would like.
MORE NEWS GALLERIES
Sunrise Easter
service at First
Congregational
Church of
Ridgefield
New Milford
Good Friday
Christian Faith
walk
Bishop attends
veneration of
the Cross
service at Saint
Joseph Church
With springlike temperatures finally arriving in
http://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Spring-brings-cha-ching-to-housing-market-6203025.php#photo-7823798
1/4
4/16/2015
Spring brings cha-ching to housing market - NewsTimes
April, open houses have been heating up for
home sellers, area real estate agents say, a
welcome change from a punishing February
that forced many to delay listing their homes for
sale until contractors could complete needed
repairs or cosmetic jobs.
0
0
0
0
"A lot of listings have, all of a sudden, started to
come onto the market," said Coyle, co-owner of
Real Estate Two and secretary of the Greater
Fairfield County CMLS. "March 15 -- things
started picking up. You could feel the difference
in the last two weeks of March from the first
two weeks."
I'll Do It Later
Prudential
More videos:
Based on the past month, Coyle is fairly certain
it is going to be a good year in residential real
Larger | Smaller
Email This
estate in Fairfield County, and she is not alone
Printable Version
Font
in that sentiment. Buyers are emboldened by
interest rates that promise to stay low through
the first half of the year, according to Michael
Feldman, president-elect of the Connecticut Association of Realtors and an agent in the
Stamford office of Shelton-based William Raveis Real Estate. If houses are hitting the market
at an escalating rate, a far greater number of people appear to be house hunting, Feldman
noted, creating a favorable supply and demand trend for the spring as millennial-generation
parents look to get their children settled in school districts in advance of the next
academic year.
Tweet
Share
Results were mixed town by town, with Shelton seeing 58 homes sold according to Connecticut
Multiple Listing Service data published by William Pitt + Julia B. Fee Sotheby's International
Realty, a 66 percent increase from the same three-month stretch in 2014.
LATEST NEWS
Other towns saw declines, however, including Trumbull with 49 homes sold, five fewer than in
the first quarter of 2014; and Westport, likewise with five fewer sales for 58 in all, possibly a
function of some would-be sellers waiting for a bigger rebound in prices at comparable homes
before listing their own.
In a first-quarter market report, William Pitt + Julia B. Fee Sotheby's International Realty
stated the Fairfield County market has the highest inventory of available homes in 10 years,
with sellers expecting buyers will bid close to their asking prices for homes. As of March 31, the
inventory of single-family homes was up 36 percent from a year ago; and pending sales surged
78 percent, representing activity by both local buyers as well as those relocating to the area.
Fairfield County homes are currently averaging 108 days on the market, about nine fewer days
than in the first quarter of 2014.
Danbury rally supports 'Fight
for $15' movement
LATEST SPORTS
"Values are up which means ... sellers have a little more equity," Feldman said.
Prices holding steady
In the first quarter, 1,288 single-family houses sold in the Fairfield County area according to
data from the Connecticut Multiple Listing Service, with Bridgeport sales excluded from that
data. That represented a 13 percent increase from the 1,139 single-family homes sold in the
region last year,
Across Fairfield County, the average price for a single-family home climbed just 0.6 percent, to
$643,000, while the price of the median home sold was off slightly to $394,000.
High school roundup:
Newtown's Urso chosen to play
in 2015 Brine National Lacrosse
Classic
LATEST ENTERTAINMENT
"The hardest thing is to explain to the seller that prices have not increased," said Real Estate
Two's Coyle. "(Homes) are coming on the market, they're selling; but ... the prices have not
gone up."
Still, it beats having to relay a professional opinion that things are heading in the
http://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Spring-brings-cha-ching-to-housing-market-6203025.php#photo-7823798
2/4
4/16/2015
Spring brings cha-ching to housing market - NewsTimes
opposite direction.
"The market is creeping up in price," said Kim Gifford, an agent in the Danbury office of
William Pitt Sotheby's International Realty. "There's no more low-balling anymore -- the
sellers are not that desperate."
While the average condominium price was up 2.2 percent to $276,000, 40 fewer units sold in
the first quarter across Fairfield County from a year earlier, down 7.5 percent.
February's onslaught of cold and storms likewise impacted condominium sales, Coyle said,
with older couples looking to downsize waiting out the weather before making the rounds of
open houses.
New England Ballet's busy April
in Bridgeport
LATEST NEWS
Still, add it all up and the market is shaping up as the best in years, Feldman said, with low
interest rates giving buyers some wiggle room to sweeten offers and sellers having built up
additional equity in their properties the past few years. Also helping things is a steadily
dwindling overhang of foreclosed homes hitting the market at bargain prices.
K-9 Officer Zeus to be honored with last
ride through Ridgefield
The next several weeks should prove pivotal.
Kathleen Durst forged lasting friendship
while at Western
"The first six months is going to be the telltale sign for how the year is going to go," Feldman
said. "Those deals that close in June are happening in March ... That's where the value
is established."
Young teen charged in Stamford slaying
Four new Bronx stations in Metro-North
plans
Deceased baby's parents were to reveal
Maury Povich show paternity test
[email protected]; 203-964-2236; www.twitter.com/casoulman
Printable Version
Email This
Share
0
Tweet
0
0
0
You Might Also Like
How Your Retirement
Savings Could Translate
into Monthly Income…
Fisher Investments
Wall Street’s New
Obsession
The New York Times ‐
Business
From Around the Web
9 Quick Reasons Your
Timeshare Failed To Sell
Sharket Blog
First Look: Guess Who’s
About To Go Bankrupt In
America
The Crux
We Recommend
7 Credit Cards You Should Not Ignore If You
Have Excellent Credit (NextAdvisor)
Connecticut artist, husband dead in apparent
murder‐suicide
What Is Considered a Good Credit Score? (Better
Money Habits™ by Bank of America)
Flight returns to Seattle after worker trapped in
cargo hold
These Gigabit Cities Will Be Our Next High‐Tech
What Connecticut was like in 1988
Hubs (HP Matter)
At Disney racecar attraction, Lamborghini
crashes, kills 1
Magnates who won't leave wealth to kids
(Bankrate.com)
Migration Patterns: The Giant Retirement
Community That Explains Where Americans Are
Moving (The New York Times)
Savvy Millennials Do This At the Start of Each
'Yes' to tolls on I‐84
Nude backyard sunbather takes plea deal in
lewdness case
School delayed after employee is fatally crushed
in lot
Year (FutureAdvisor)
One Secret Banks Do Not Want Homeowners to
Know... (Smart Life Weekly)
Recommended by
http://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Spring-brings-cha-ching-to-housing-market-6203025.php#photo-7823798
3/4
4/16/2015
Spring brings cha-ching to housing market - NewsTimes
(0) Comments
powered by:
Write your comment here
Record video Upload video Upload image
Submit
Show: 10 | 20 | 50
Follow
REALTIME
Newest
NEWS-TIMES
SERVICES
OTHER EDITIONS
LOCAL SERVICES
OUR PARTNERS
Home
News
Sports
Find&Save Local Shopping
Customer Care
Contact Us
Home delivery
e‐Edition
Mobile
Air Conditioning Contractors in Danbury
Car Dealerships in Danbury
Cleaning Services in Danbury
Connecticut Post
Darien News
Fairfield Citizen
Business
Entertainment
Obituaries
Advertise With Us
Terms of Service
Privacy Policy
iPhone
Android
RSS
Family Doctors in Danbury
Furniture Stores in Danbury
Injury Attorneys in Danbury
Greenwich Time
New Canaan News
New Milford Spectrum
Opinion
Living
Blogs
Your California Privacy Rights
Facebook
Twitter
New Car Dealers in Danbury
Real Estate Agents in Danbury
Real Estate Attorneys in Danbury
Stamford Advocate
The News‐Times
Westport News
Traffic
Weather
Classifieds
Find Danbury jobs
MARKETPLACE
Restaurants in Danbury
Ad Choices
Jobs
Homes
Rentals
Cars
© Hearst Media Services Connecticut, LLC
http://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Spring-brings-cha-ching-to-housing-market-6203025.php#photo-7823798
4/4