Greenwich, CT Residential Real Estate Blog and Analysis: September 5th

Greenwich, CT Residential Real Estate Blog and Analysis:   September 5th    A weekly analysis brought to you by Greenwich Real Estate Guy. www.greenwichrealestateguy.com

Dear Jared      I will be hosting an open house for my listing 10 Maher Avenue from 1-4 p.m. on Sunday.  See the write up below.  I will be driving to Michigan this week (with the three kids wish me luck) so there will not be a newsletter next week.  Visit www.greenwichstreets.com for the open house list next week. One of our readers wrote me an incredibly insightful email in regards to price per square feet on properties.  This email coupled with a multitude of buyers that I am working with asking about price per square foot has me rethinking my opinion on price per square foot.  I have typically had difficult with this term as Greenwich has so many different layers.  From each area and neighborhood being specific to themselves it is difficult to look at price per square foot comparatively.  On a listing, the square feet can be listed from the tax card or by an architect, so I have had difficulty referencing this number.  Lastly, today's buyers are looking for the turn key move in ready home, which drastically changes the price per square feet.  For example if two properties sell on the same block and are comparable, but one is renovated while the other is not the numbers will differ drastically.  However, I am learning that buyers want this information.  Please know if you would like a custom report that dives into what you are most curious do not hesitate to email me.  Per the request I have run the analysis on price per square foot for the properties currently available and compared that to the price per square foot from the properties that have sold ytd.  I was surprised at the difference. The active price per square foot is an average of $738.35.  However, of all of the sold prices year to date the price per square foot is $612.79.  This is a 17% difference.  I can run specific analysis on this statistic if you would like to let me know if you would like it broken down by area, price point, etc. The charts and graphs will be updated first week of September after we get August numbers.  We currently have 676 properties for sale in all of Greenwich, up 13. I am hoping this is the start of some quality listings coming on the market.  I imagine the inventory will start to pick up between Labor Day and Thanksgiving.  In the amount of transactions August what was not disappointing which is a good sign.  Actually, we had the same amount (92) in August of 2013 as we did in 2014. This is the first month in a while that has not been below last year, which is a great sign.   10 Maher Avenue is a sun drenched, in-town 5 bedroom colonial, steps away from shopping and schools, affords an open and airy floor plan providing wonderful flow. Built in 1933 this gracious 2334 sq. ft. home boasts hardwood floors, lofty ceilings and unique vintage details and sits on .19 acres of well-manicured, beautifully landscaped property. Recent upgrades include the cedar shingle roof and copper gutters. A quaint, new white picket fence graces the front of this delightful residence adding to its genuine curb appeal.   Step through the latched gate to a lush lawn, punctuated by mature hydrangea and rhododendron bushes.   A welcoming, large front porch with an inviting Dutch door leads into a stately entryway. The generous formal living room is bathed in natural light from the front facing bay windows and unfolds into the elegant dining room, complete with a wood-burning fireplace and swinging door to the butler's pantry. The casual living room, centered around another fireplace, expands into the bright kitchen, providing a perfect backdrop for intimate gatherings.   A small mudroom, powder room and side porch entry sit just conveniently off the family room, rounding out the main level. A spacious master bedroom, three additional bedrooms and a full bath comprise the sunlit second level. The top floor provides an additional private home office or bedroom, with a small landing space and easy access to a walk-in attic. A full bathroom and laundry room are located in the unfinished lower level, offering endless potential for additional recreational living space. The side porch accesses the detached two-car garage, and pristine level backyard with a private stone terrace. Ideally located on the same street as Brunswick Academy and just steps away from Greenwich Academy, Whole Foods and the esteemed Greenwich Avenue shopping and dining district. Convenient to the train and major highways to New York City. A charming home close to it all! Bullet Points: Built in 1933 New Cedar Shingle Roof New Copper gutters 2334 square feet .19 well-manicured, level acre 5 bedrooms 2 full baths/1 half bath Four levels Detached Two Car Garage Completely Rebuilt Large Front Porch Gas-lit Outdoor sconces Backyard Stone Terrace Belgian Block Lined Driveway White Picket Fence, recently added Mature plantings Central Air Conditioning 2 wood-burning fireplaces Listing Price:  $2.049M If you look at the months on average to sell through the inventory I believe it best shows the market.  I have done two reports, one based on last year's activity and one based on this year's activity.  You will see that across the board the months on average are down year to date, which may seem counter intuitive if I am saying that the transactions are down.  However, the end of July is typical when the least amount of inventory is out there, due to being past the spring market and before the fall market.  Hence, when you compare it to the chart with the 2013 activity you see that the months on average are higher. I have invested in my own MLS Search for my readers.  This will give access to a lot of the listing information I have.  Also, if I have already set you up with your personal portal, you will now be able to search your own searches outside of what I set up for you.  Feel free to test out and search properties.  I feel the best attribute is that you can save your own search and choose to get alerts as new properties come on to the market, properties are sold, or change in price.  All specific to your customized search.  Hence, you will speed up your learning curve, becoming an expert in the specific market you care about. Please let me know if you would like me to provide customized information or statistics for you based on your criteria. **The information on the featured property and all statistical information is from the Greenwich MLS. **All opinions garnered from the statistics are my own

Properties Sold   We still cannot seem to catch up to last years number of transactions.  The year started off hot, and has since dwindled.  We are down 10-15% every month the last few months.  However, this month we at least equaled the amount as last year. New Listings We had 62 new listings last month as you can see sill higher than last year but on par with the few years before that.    Year to Date Sold The percentages have leveled off and are sustaining, all percentages are the same vs. the end of last month.   Year to Date Available    In an effort to define the different markets as a good time to buy or sale I believe one needs to look at the months on average it would take to sell through the inventory we have.  This one below is the amount of months on average to sell through our current inventory based on 2014 ytd sold numbers by price range. Price Range 1/31/14 2/28/14 3/28/14 4/25/14 5/16/14 7/31/14 0-$500K 10.2 6.0 7.0 6.1 5.5 5.6 $500K-$1M 9.7 8.6 9.0 8.7 8.6 5.2 $1M-$1.5M 5.5 9.5 8.9 10.3 7.8 6.4 $1.5M-$2M 8 14.5 13.6 18.4 17.8 11 $2M-$3M 4.7 9.2 11.6 14.3 14.2 11.1 $3M-$4M 11 13.1 11.8 14.2 14.5 10.4 $4M-$5M 11.9 8.9 13.1 14.4 22.1 17.7 $5M-$7.5M 20.7 32.0 39.5 59 56.6 32 $7.5M-$10M n/a n/a 71.5 51 31.5 59.5 $10M+ 22.4 27.2 42.0 22.7 33.8 29.9   I believe these chart above and below best show the Greenwich market.  If you look at the months on average to sell through the inventory I believe it best shows the market.  I have done two reports, one based on last year's activity and one based on this year's activity.  You will see that across the board the months on average are down year to date, which may seem counter intuitive if I am saying that the transactions are down.  However, the end of July is typical when the least amount of inventory is out there, due to being past the spring market and before the fall market.  Hence, when you compare it to the chart with the 2013 activity you see that the months on average are higher. The chart below is the amount of months on average to sell through current inventory based on all of 2013 sold numbers by price range.  Price Range 8/30/13 9/30/13 10/25/13 11/30/13 12/30/13 1/31/14 2/28/14 3/28/14 4/25/14 5/16/14 7/31/14 0-$500K 4.26 4.4 5.2 4.2 4 4.2 4 3.8 3.7 4 4.1 $500K-$1M 4.65 4.9 4.6 3.4 3.2 3 3.8 4.4 5.2 5.4 4.7 $1M-$1.5M 4.96 5.2 4.6 3.6 3 3.5 4 4.1 5.6 5.4 5.8 $1.5M-$2M 5.61 5.6 5.1 5 4.7 5 6.4 6.1 7.2 7.1 8.7 $2M-$3M 7.84 9.1 8.3 6.3 5.4 5.9 6.9 8 9.1 10.3 9.7 $3M-$4M 20.22 23.4 21.3 17.1 15.8 16.3 15.3 16.5 19.8 18.5 19.8 $4M-$5M 22 23.9 25.3 18.8 14.1 15 13.7 13.7 18 21 22.7 $5M-$7.5M 40.8 31.6 26.4 25 21.5 22.2 24 25.1 28.4 32 26.5 $7.5M-$10M 44.8 52.1 58.8 53.1 46.3 46.3 46.3 42.9 46.3 48 58.3 $10M+ 272 103.2 92.1 72.2 61.5 66 63 66 54 67.5 70.5 I find these two charts to be very intriguing.  One can see the huge discrepancy based on the 2013 numbers between the luxury market and under $3M.  However, at the top if we use the inventory based on the ytd sold numbers it is not as definitive. The luxury market is doing much better than last year and each market seems to be doing relatively well.   Open Houses for September 7th       Below are the 58 open houses this weekend.  The fall market has officially begun.  Please come visit me at 10 Maher Avenue.  Street Name Area List Price Time Listing Office 28 High Street Greenwich $465K 1-4 p.m. Raveis 35 Putnam Park Greenwich $479K 1-4 p.m. BHHS 53 Rodwell #A Greenwich $494K 1-3 p.m. Keller Williams 138 N.Water Greenwich $510K 12-2 p.m. Coldwell Banker 453 E. Putnam #3B Cos Cob $565K 1-3 p.m. Weichert 1 Scott Road Greenwich $649K 2-4 p.m. Coldwell Banker 27 Bridge Street Greenwich $679K 12-2 p.m. Sotheby's 12 Cross Street Greenwich $689K 2-4:30 p.m. Raveis 303 Bruce Park Avenue Greenwich $735K 12-3 p.m. Weichert 436 Valley Road Cos Cob $749K 1-3 p.m. Coldwell Banker 15 Lafayette #5B Greenwich $799.5K 11-1:30 BHHS 57 Richmond Drive Old Greenwich $995K 2-4 p.m. Coldwell Banker 7 Sickle Bar Riverside $995K 2-4 p.m. Shore and Country 4 Waterfall Lane Cos Cob $1.075M 2-4 p.m. Raveis 1017 North Street Greenwich $1.245M 11-1 p.m. Coldwell Banker 347 Riversville Road Greenwich $1.295M 1-4 p.m. Coldwell Banker 69 Stanwich Road Greenwich $1.375M 1-4 p.m. BHHS 392 Davis Avenue Greenwich $1.395M 1-4 p.m. Raveis 323 Cognewaugh Cos Cob $1.395M 2-4 p.m. Raveis 17 Indian Mill Road Cos Cob $1.42M 1-4 p.m. BHHS 51 Glen Road Greenwich $1.487M 1-3 p.m. BHHS 34 Oval Avenue Riverside $1.495M 2-4 p.m. Houlihan Lawrence 178 Milbank #B Greenwich $1.795M 1-3 p.m. Coldwell Banker 190 Lake Avenue Greenwich $1.895M 1-3 p.m. Halstead 35 Shady Lane Greenwich $1.995M 2-4 p.m. Coldwell Banker 127 Sound Beach Old Greenwich $1.995M 1-3 p.m. Shore and Country 11 Circle Drive Greenwich $2M 12-3 p.m. BHHS 10 MAHER AVENUE Greenwich $2.049M 1-4 p.m. Houlihan Lawrence 172 Cognewaugh Cos Cob $2.05M 1-3 p.m. Coldwell Banker 315 Field Point Greenwich $2.095M 1-4 p.m. BHHS 50 Orchard East Greenwich $2.099M 12-2 p.m. Greenwich Realty 55 Shore Road Old Greenwich $2.195M 1-5 p.m. Weichert 18 Hidden Brook Riverside $2.195M 1-3 p.m. Coldwell Banker 6 Gaston Farm Greenwich $2.2M 2-4 p.m. Coldwell Banker 270 Palmer Hill Riverside $2.295M 1-3 p.m. Raveis 16 Somerset Lane Riverside $2.35M 1-3 p.m. Sotheby's 2 Idar Court #A Greenwich $2.475M 2-4 p.m. Coldwell Banker 30 Sherwood Avenue Greenwich $2.5M 1-4 p.m. Douglas Elliman 33 Pleasant Street Riverside $2.749M 1-3 p.m. Keller Williams 268 Palmer Hill Riverside $2.75M 1-3 p.m. Raveis 5 Lake Drive Riverside $2.795M 1-4 p.m. BHHS 7 Gisborne Place Old Greenwich $2.995M 1-4 p.m. Coldwell Banker 5 Sylvan Lane Old Greenwich $3M 1-3 p.m. Coldwell Banker 34 A Bruce Park Greenwich $3.095M 1-3 p.m. Halstead 34 B Bruce Park Greenwich $3.295M 1-3 p.m. Halstead 20 Heronvue Road Greenwich $3.375M 1-3 p.m. Coldwell Banker 7 Nawthorne Road Old Greenwich $3.395M 1-4 p.m. Halstead 44 Cedar Cliff Riverside $3.4M 1:30-3:30 Coldwell Banker 29 Byfield Lane Greenwich $3.595M 1-3 p.m. Raveis 15 Lexington Avenue Greenwich $3.695M 1-3 p.m. Coldwell Banker 95 Connecticut Avenue Greenwich $3.695M 1-3 p.m. Coldwell Banker 5 Grimes Road Old Greenwich $3.995M 1-4 p.m. Coldwell Banker 38 Bramble Lane Riverside $3.995M 12-2 p.m. BHHS 20 Carpenters Brook Greenwich $4.1M 1-3 p.m. Coldwell Banker 585 Round Hill Greenwich $4.295M 1:30-3:30 Coldwell Banker 36 DAY ROAD Greenwich $4.495M 1-3 p.m. Coldwell Banker 22 Stillman Lane Greenwich $4.99M 1-3 p.m. Weichert 36 West Way Old Greenwich $5.75M 1-3 p.m. Halstead Best,                                                                                                                                                         Jared Randall                                                 Join my Mailing List Houlihan Lawrence Greenwich                     Search Properties www.greenwichrealestateguy.com                Forward to a Friend cell:  203-273-1034                                         View My Website email:  jrandall@houlihanlawrence.com     Like me on Facebook           Mortgage Information There are two individuals I feel most confident about when it comes to home mortgages.  One in Manhattan and one in Greenwich.  They are Jeff Ihrig of First Republic in Manhattan, and in Greenwich I prefer Treena David-Chirico of Wells Fargo NMLSR ID 404288. Jeff can be reached at 646-372-5181.  Treena's phone number is 203-618-3923.  You can go to her website to input your specific information to receive rates.  Her website is www.wfhm.com/treena-david-chirico.