Connecticut real estate | FerrariChat

Connecticut real estate

Discussion in 'New England' started by ARTNNYC, Jun 29, 2017.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

  1. ARTNNYC

    ARTNNYC F1 Rookie
    Owner

    Jul 8, 2005
    3,767
    NYC, FL
    Full Name:
    Jerome
    I am in the process of looking for a nice home in one of the seaside villages such as Darien, Norwalk, Rowayton, Fairfield, Westport..etc..
    It seems that some of these homes have been for sale for years and the asking prices are below what they paid even if they bought after the 2008 crash. Am I missing something?
    Any suggestions of which towns would be best?
     
  2. guygowrie

    guygowrie Formula 3

    Sep 19, 2011
    1,400
    ct
    Full Name:
    guy s
    HI Jerome,

    I'm a resident but not in the coastal towns, lets just say Darien's rival in high school football. Lot of factors going on and I don't profess to know all of them. Some important ones in my view in our area:

    - one big generation is downsizing. We had a neighbor with 2 houses on my street. retired and moving his tax base to florida where he had a home. So he offloaded those two. Neighbor next to that basically hasn't lived in the house more than 1/4 of the year and we have been there 6 years. They are seniors with other property, house is for sale. Lots of people moving from "like to sell" to "time is ticking, we need to sell"

    - one generation took a big hit in 2008 and struggling to get back to being able to buy homes even if they wanted to. Many people in the area commute to nyc and/or work in finance/trading and for many I don't think the last years have been great. Less $$ = less hubris (many seem to be renovating. Maybe doing that instead of upsizing?). Get a Heloc and do the kitchen and bathrooms or an extension, but dont go from 3500 to 7500 sq ft?

    - younger generation coming up are slow to go the house route, although a friend in big data analytics assures me they will, just later. So while these areas are great value compared to nyc, they are waiting till the last minute (kids make the move very logical, as all you mentioned apart from Rowayton belong to a good school systems, whereas schoiling is a nightmare in NYC)

    - Builders have been taking out old, smaller homes and building big spec houses but the supply of $3-4mio houses has outstripped demand. That's not going to help getting the next generation in. The majority of those spec houses I personally think are awful, but that's just me.

    - buyers don't want the old large homes, they want new ones. So very nice houses just dont get any takers. Possibly as well the old homes need to big works to upgrade post sandy - ie if you remodel then you have to meet the new requirements. Easier to knock down and rebuild. So who wants the older houses in that case.

    - Companies like Ge moving has slugged the market as executives are faced with selling up and buying a house in their new location. Stamford has lost a ton of positions with UBS and RBS since their pre 2008 haydays. On the plus side others have moved in but I couldn't say if an overall plus or minus. Stamford has a lot of development going on though which can only be positive. Lots of new apartments which seem to be full, possibly drawing in young (who may be commuting) and ofcourse then positive if they decide to have families etc.

    In general, I think great places to live. Rowayton is so nice in summer, although taxes are high - easy to live close and go there.

    If you find one of those 'have to sell" you could be one of the very few real buyers.

    Good luck!
     
  3. Dai Baracca

    Dai Baracca Formula Junior

    Mar 4, 2007
    572
    NY
    Full Name:
    SB
    Hello Jerome,
    Like anything in RE some areas fair better than others...Norwalk is a crap shoot, yes even by the water....Darien & Westport are prime have always been and will always be...and Greenwich especially by the water is still untouchable...
    I believe the biggest thing for CT RE right now is more the condition of the State & its finances....with the exception of Fairfield County, they are in a bad way...many people leaving the area, either downsizing out or just getting out....
    so this may be a nice opportunity to be waterfront...I almost bought waterfront in Greenwich 2 years ago but the cost per/sq. ft + the fact that I could not expand the house do to deed restrictions + the new Flood Insurance rates gave me pause...fast forward to today and the house is still for sale....
    Best of Luck
     
  4. Nospinzone

    Nospinzone F1 Veteran

    Jul 1, 2013
    7,346
    Weston, MA
    Full Name:
    Paul
    Same thing here in Mass. On my street a developer tore down a ranch a built a McMansion. My architect neighbor and I monitored the construction. The shoddiest materials and ( I use the term loosely) workmanship you will ever see. The house is under agreement, that house will be a money pit until it is eventually torn down.
     
  5. Countachqv

    Countachqv Formula 3

    Apr 25, 2007
    2,343
    USA/France
    well, many buyers know nothing about construction or materials as long as it looks "shiny". Where I am, the new houses prices, so called mc mansion on 1/2 acre, are flying off the shelves at ridiculous prices per sqft compared to older home, but that is what people want.

    the astute buyer will find a nicely constructed older home that has been maintained properly
     
  6. ARTNNYC

    ARTNNYC F1 Rookie
    Owner

    Jul 8, 2005
    3,767
    NYC, FL
    Full Name:
    Jerome
    Thanks for the great input and information. Compared to the Hamptons I see CT real estate as a complete bargain and much less congested
     
  7. silver1331

    silver1331 Formula Junior
    Silver Subscribed

    Feb 9, 2009
    520
    Agree with all the above comments posted. If you're not focused on a seaside city with the commuter premium you should also consider Litchfield County. Many hamptons people now going there because of commute time, congestion, etc
     
  8. Ashman

    Ashman Three Time F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Sep 5, 2002
    31,629
    MA
    Full Name:
    John
    A lot of good observations here. I lived in Darien for 26 years before returning to Boston 3 years ago. My sense is that the combination of taxes closing the gap with NY, a changing financial industry ( particularly hedge funds), companies and populations leaving, etc. is that Fairfield County real estate will be slow until the overall economy picks up, particularly in the $2 million and up range. I hear $10 million up is choking on inventory.

    There are a lot of potential 6,500 square foot $3MM white elephant out there while it is much scarcer to find a well constructed 3,000 square foot on an acre in the $1.5 million range as they are being expanded to the larger sizes.

    It all depends on what you want and how your budget allows but my general advice would be to avoid the larger, more expensive houses unless you can find a desperate seller and rip his face off.
     
  9. Ashman

    Ashman Three Time F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Sep 5, 2002
    31,629
    MA
    Full Name:
    John
    This is true but there really is no comparison between being on Long Island Sound in CT and being in East Hampton or Amagansett and being able to enjoy some of the best beaches in the continental U.S. IMO.
     
  10. Ashman

    Ashman Three Time F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Sep 5, 2002
    31,629
    MA
    Full Name:
    John
    Sorry to be posting stream of consciousness but there are very significant differences between Greenwich (even mid country, Cos Cob, Riverside, Old Greenwich, Belle Haven), Darien, New Canaan, Rowayton, Westport and others further out. Unless you care to tell us your wishes and priorities (mostly non-monetary) you really need to go see them yourself and see what the vibe of each town is like.

    We looked at them all when we moved from New York and considerations were laid back and low(er) key (a relative term), ease of commuting, access to water, proximity to other things and other factors. We wanted to be close to everything but not right in the middle of the hub bub.
     
  11. ttforcefed

    ttforcefed F1 World Champ
    Rossa Subscribed

    Aug 22, 2002
    18,766
    outside of a cple towns in lower Westchester the entire 2M + market never rebounded. Prime gwich is trading way below 500 a sqft - Westport, darien, new canaan have a market that's flooded with 2m + inventory. In gwich the price drops have been similar to the crisis. There are less and less people who can afford to buy them, its that simple. Also for the past few years NY, NJ, and CT have been the most fled states. Hamptons is a different market completely. it's hard to find good stuff out east for less than 750 sqft and the really nice stuff if is closer to 2k sqft.

    in summary, under 1M its tough to find anything. Over 2M and you can have a field day outside of scarsdale and rye. Rye on the water is bid and everything else on the water isn't. Even the bluest of the blue chip gwich water properties have stalled. id def opt for the hamptons if you can go that way. 6M+ and you hear crickets.

    also the historical CT tax arb has pretty much gone away - income tax has gone up as have property taxes.

    this is worth a read:
    The Reckoning on Round Hill Road | Institutional Investor
     
  12. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Seven Time F1 World Champ
    Rossa Subscribed

    Apr 28, 2003
    75,386
    Texas!
    Connecticut is the poster child of what economists call "Voting with your feet." For decades, Connecticut has been number one or close to it most heavily taxed jurisdiction state. California may be the current champ, but Conn is still in the race.

    The problem is Connecticut lost its industrial base when all the mills closed like the rest of New England. Except for a few insurance companies, Connecticut became a suburb of Wall Street. This worked great through the '50s, '60s, '70s, 80s, and '90s as Wall Street grew and grew and grew. But just as Wall Street has sprung a leak, so has Connecticut. Frankly, unless the state has a plan for reinventing itself, I wouldn't be very optimistic.
     
  13. Hocakes

    Hocakes Formula Junior

    Apr 24, 2010
    451
    FL
    Yep. I left 10 yrs ago. Politicians are completely unable (or unwilling) to grasp that when people vote with their feet, their wallets go with them. Couple that with 6-7 months of freezing your butt off & snow shoveling per year and no sane person will stay there.

    Someone please explain to me how a single person with zero children & an exotic car that is rarely driven (not at all in winter) is burdening town services such that they deserve a good anal probing on property taxes.

     
  14. 19633500GT

    19633500GT F1 World Champ
    Rossa Subscribed

    Nov 9, 2010
    11,926
    Blueberry
    Full Name:
    Muffin-Tops
    For fun, searching Zillow showed 407, $2MM-Up, current homes for sales in Greenwich lol

    This states bleeding, and there is no long term bandaid.

    In the words of Shark Tank "and for those reasons, I'm out...".


    Think long and hard about moving here before you make a decision.
    Overtaxed
    Traffic is nuts in Lower FC
    And it still votes Blue! Wtf!

    2018 can't come any quicker, and I get to leave this hell
     
  15. ARTNNYC

    ARTNNYC F1 Rookie
    Owner

    Jul 8, 2005
    3,767
    NYC, FL
    Full Name:
    Jerome
    Thank you for all the great comments everyone. Keep in mind this would be a tertiary residence for me and I would only be spending 4-5 of the summer months there. I am retired and am now a Florida resident so I would only be liable for the property taxes, which I see are quite high.
     
  16. ttforcefed

    ttforcefed F1 World Champ
    Rossa Subscribed

    Aug 22, 2002
    18,766
    have you considered going further north like Rhinebeck? its attracting a lot of people who don't want to pay for the hamptons and you can get to NYC in 90 mins I think
     
  17. ARTNNYC

    ARTNNYC F1 Rookie
    Owner

    Jul 8, 2005
    3,767
    NYC, FL
    Full Name:
    Jerome
    I want to be near the ocean. Must be a Sicilian thing
     
  18. Ashman

    Ashman Three Time F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Sep 5, 2002
    31,629
    MA
    Full Name:
    John
    #18 Ashman, Jul 5, 2017
    Last edited: Jul 5, 2017
    FYI: Long Island Sound is not the ocean. If you go far east in CT, the sound opens up quite a bit and looks and feels like ocean but the Sound in Fairfield County is not ocean. I may be an ocean snob who prefers the beaches in East Hampton, Martha's Vineyard, Cape Cod (outer shore only), Florida, etc. because, in 26 years of living in Darien, I never once went swimming in LIS. Belonged to a beach club, went out on boats and kayaks, and enjoyed many evenings with cocktails on the beach to watch the sunset but I left the swimming to the kids.

    Feel free to contact me if you want any personal observations about the Fairfield County lifestyle.

    PS: Regarding property taxes, they are low relative to neighboring Westchester by a factor of at least half. The thing about property taxes is that they never go down and they never go away, unlike a mortgage that gets paid off eventually. Greenwich has the lowest, Darien next lowest and so on. All have increased at much faster than inflation over the years, though. The Darien tax rate is just around 1.2% of true market value, as a reference.
     
  19. ragiya

    ragiya Rookie
    BANNED

    Jun 30, 2023
    6
    Full Name:
    ragiya
    What’s going on with the real estate market around Ridgefield, Redding and Weston? Our family is looking to move sometime this year, and on paper, those towns are right up our alley (btw, thank you for the contributions to previous questions on this forum!) But I’m seeing a lot of -what appear to be- pretty nice places, have been for sale for well over a year. Is something going on? Housing bubble? Pollution discovery? Political discontent? As a buyer, it almost seems too good to be true. As an analytic, that gives me reason to pause. Thanks in advance!
     
  20. Countachqv

    Countachqv Formula 3

    Apr 25, 2007
    2,343
    USA/France
    Housing is still hot around here. If a house cant sell investigate. Way overpriced (overpriced is now the norm), town issues, crime house where people died, a new airport is gonna encroached the property … you get the drift..
     
  21. wahoowa

    wahoowa F1 Veteran
    Silver Subscribed

    Aug 7, 2008
    9,427
    _East Coast_
    Full Name:
    Bill
    Any of the places you looking at "boiler" heated? If you've never heated via old skool "boiler" you haven't lived.

    They can be a serious i$$ue once "broken"...add a little "oh, we found a little asbestos" and uh oh....
     
  22. 19633500GT

    19633500GT F1 World Champ
    Rossa Subscribed

    Nov 9, 2010
    11,926
    Blueberry
    Full Name:
    Muffin-Tops
    Overpriced upper Fairfield County price expectations. Getting out of Fairfield County in 2018 felt like winning the lottery. Paying for the privilege to live there was a chore. We’re one town outside of it now, and have a much nicer home, neighborhood, property taxes, and dare I say school district.

    The traffic, population and “bustle” of those towns (well, Redding is pretty “farm chic” still) just isn’t/wasn’t worth the dollars spent. Add to that IMHO more liberal than wanted school district politics, and no ****ing thanks.
     

Share This Page