Greenwich, CT Residential Real Estate Blog and Analysis:

Dear Greenwich
The above pictured stunning five bedroom colonial is located at 50 Cat Rock Road. The house is ready for today’s buyers with an incredible kitchen that opens into the family room, perfect for entertaining. However, the amenities are what sets this house apart. There is a phenomenal home theatre in the lower level, a great master bedroom and bath, gym, a heated driveway for the winters, and great yard with patio and decks. I left feeling there was a lot of fun family days and entertaining at the home. It was built in 2007, listed at 7,000 s.f., sits on a private 1.47 acres, in the sought after North Street Elementary district, and is priced at $3.395M. There will be an open house at this property from 1-4 p.m. on Sunday. Also, I will be hosting an open house at 9 Cottage Place in Greenwich from 1-4 on Sunday.
The goal of this blog has always been to inform buyers and sellers alike. I feel the Q3 Greenwich Report that the owners of my company put out, best describe the current landscape and market. You can click on the whole report broken down by area below. Here is what their summary is:This summer had us doing a lot of number crunching here in Greenwich. The local market varies dramatically dependingon the neighborhood. While Greenwich itself remains a highly desirable area, buyers are willing to wait on the sidelines for theright property. Our team has become experts on the complicated and changing variables driving the current market, and whatmakes a property sell.
Wall Street’s volatility is increasingly evident in the real estate market. The summer was a roller coaster for investors, whoremain on edge. Those jitters have naturally spread to the housing market and have made buyers wary of making the wrongmove. They demand value to get off the sidelines. Recent evidence of some economic weakness has many believing rates will stay low for longer than expected, giving buyers even less reason to compromise, or buy into a property that isn’t turnkey.Here are some trends we see as the rest of 2015 plays out:Get ready to play “Deal or No Deal”. If your property is well renovated, in move-in condition, and priced right, you will be ableto make a deal. Bonus points if you are near transportation, restaurants, shopping and schools that buyers want. But be warned.
Miss on any of those and buyers may bypass your offering, and you will be scrambling to re-group. Buyers don’t want to playgames. They don’t want to lowball. They want value and quality.Fishing is not the sport of choice this season. Sellers must be realistic when setting a price. Many properties are sitting onthe market for longer than we would like. The key to cutting down Days On Market is setting the right price from the start. Let’stake some advice from Marie Kondo, author of “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering andOrganising”. That means staging, painting and perhaps most importantly, de-cluttering. Sellers must take steps to limit thecreativity a buyer needs to imagine what their life would be like in the house.
Some regional statistics we’d like to share:Buyers with the biggest budgets can take their pick in Greater Greenwich. There is a lot to choose from in the $10m pluscategory with 53 homes to choose from. That said, the hottest price range in the area is the $5-6m, where sales are up 77 percent year-to-date. Overall though, the number of sales is down in the area, and they are taking longer to sell, but prices are higher.
Buyers will pay a premium for new or renovated properties.Patience is a virtue North of the Parkway: Homes sat on the market the longest in the area, an average of 276 days. It’s nosurprise that prices fell. But in the end that value pricing resonated with buyers, and units sold rose 66 percent.Location paid off South of the Parkway: Buyers were willing to pay more to be close to town. The median price of a home wentup 27 percent in the third quarter. It still took a long time to make those sales, and the number of homes sold held steady, butmore expensive homes did show gains.
The laws of supply and demand worked in sellers favor South of Post Road. Homes got 97 percent of their last list price, andmedian prices were up 11 percent in the third quarter. There were fewer homes to choose from. That meant fewer days on themarket, and a faster moving market working in favor of smart sellers.
Cos Cob took a break after a strong first half of the year. Inventory grew, and sat on the market longer. Prices fell, as did sales.Old Greenwich also slowed down, moderating after a strong 18 months. Both prices and sales were lower, though there was someimprovement in the amount of time it took to sell a home.Riverside was a mixed bag. More homes sold, but prices were down. Homes that sold were on the market a relatively shortamount of time, at an average of 89 days. The hottest category here was the $4m to $5m range. That is typically a new home or afully renovated home.
Condo sales remain solid, but value remains a high priority for buyers. Prices are down, as is inventory. Buyers are holdingout for renovated opportunities, but only at the right price.Outlook for the rest of 2015: We are energized and excited about the continued appeal of the Greenwich area. We are thrilled toreport that Houlihan Lawrence was the sole brokerage behind the largest transaction of the third quarter. We have the data andexpertise to get the best results for our clients, and look forward to sharing more good news with you, as we get ready for 2016.
THIRD QUARTER 2015EXECUTIVE SUMMARYStephen MeyersPresident and CEOChris MeyersManaging Principal
There are currently 737 properties for sale in Greenwich up two from last week. The charts are updated as of August. I have invested in my own MLS portal for individuals to set up their own custom searches. This way people can follow their specific search by area, school, price point, lot size, s.f. etc. Feel free to search properties. For a customized search click the gray arrows and you can edit the fields. For example, it is currently populated with all properties clicked. You can just click Residential then click type, area, and price range, and you can see what is available in your specific price range. After you have narrowed the search to your liking you can click “save this search” and you can set up your own portal, and receive emails as new properties come available. You can even track your favorites, and add notes or messages about properties. Or, you can just email me our parameters and I can set up a portal for you.
Q3 Greenwich Market Report
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 have sold 606 properties year to date. There were 88 properties sold in Greenwich last month which is on target vs the last few years.

New Listings

We had 61 new listings in Greenwich in August, which is also in line with the last few year’s numbers.

Year to Date Sold
Looking at these two graphs as well as the months on average can really guide you on the markets in your price range. As you can see the markets are a lot more competitive under $2M than over.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. The first chart is the 2014 inventory vs. sold numbers. The second chart is inventory today vs. sold properties. Price Range1/31/142/28/143/28/144/25/145/16/147/31/1412/31/140-$500K10.26.07.06.15.55.63$500K-$1M9.78.69.08.78.65.23.7$1M-$1.5M5.59.58.910.37.86.44.4$1.5M-$2M814.513.618.417.8116.7$2M-$3M4.79.211.614.314.211.17$3M-$4M1113.111.814.214.510.49$4M-$5M11.98.913.114.422.117.718.4$5M-$7.5M20.732.039.55956.63225.1$7.5M-$10Mn/an/a71.55131.559.521.6$10M+22.427.242.022.733.829.935.2
Price Range2/28/153/30/154/30/155/31/156/30/157/31/159/21/150-$500K4.549.69.65.45.34.1$500K-$1M6.34.27.58.67.46.85.3$1M-$1.5M4.84.565.543.34.5$1.5M-$2M6.978.88.16.55.88$2M-$3M10.18141511.611.611.1$3M-$4M3120.525.525.316.213.124.3$4M-$5M54.326.630.327.317.215.523.6$5M-$7.5M49.130.234.631.723.820.930.2$7.5M-$10M20.43631.336.449.64737.7$10M+41.776.580.586103.1120.878



Open Houses for October 18th Below are the 77 open houses for Sunday.
Street NameAreaList PriceTimeListing Office7 Cottontail RoadCos Cob$4.995K1-3 p.m.Sotheby’s7 W CrosswayOld Greenwich $7K1-4 p.m.Greenwich Custom16 Manor RoadOld Greenwich$7.25K1-4 p.m.BHHS28 Wooddale RoadGreenwich$9.5K1-3 p.m.Halstead119 Spruce StreetGreenwich$555K1-3 p.m.Douglas Elliman302 River RunGreenwich$648K1-4 p.m.BHHS9 COTTAGE PLACEGreenwich$699.9K1-4 p.m.Houlihan Lawrence21 Upland StreetGreenwich$784K2-4 p.m.Anderson Associates8 Orchard StreetCos Cob$835K1-4 p.m.Raveis3 Putnam Hil #3GGreenwich$995K1-4 p.m.BHHS10 Mead AvenueCos Cob$1.095M1-3 p.m.Coldwell Banker49 Indian Harbor #9Greenwich$1.175M1-3 p.m.Halstead10.5 Sound Beach ExtRiverside$1.275M1-4 p.m.Raveis51 Glen RoadGreenwich$1.325M1-3 p.m.BHHS7 Cottontail RoadCos Cob$1.35M1-3 p.m.Sotheby’s31 HawthorneGreenwich$1.395M2-4 p.m.Sotheby’s1 Strawbridge LaneGreenwich$1.495M1-3 p.m.Raveis72 Sound BeachOld Greenwich$1.495M1-4 p.m.Raveis8 Orchard StreetCos Cob$1.498M1-4 p.m.Raveis107 Havemeyer PlaceGreenwich$1.6M1-4 p.m.BHHS18 Oval AvenueRiverside$1.649M2-4 p.m.Raveis87 Stonehedge DriveGreenwich$1.675M1-3 p.m.Coldwell Banker108 Glenville RoadGreenwich$1.745M1:30-3 p.m.DMK4 Rainbow DriveRiverside$1.75M1-4 p.m.Raveis16 Manor RoadOld Greenwich$1.795M1-4 p.m.BHHS12 Old OrchardRiverside$1.89M1-4 p.m.Higgins7 Heusted DriveOld Greenwich$1.9M1-4 p.m.BHHS1 White Birch LaneCos Cob$1.945M2:30-4:30 p.m.Douglas Elliman188 Bedford RoadGreenwich$1.995M2-4 p.m.Coldwell Banker172 Byram Shore RoadGreenwich$1.995M1-3 p.m.Coldwell Banker11 Pintail LaneGreenwich$2.15M1-3 p.m.Houlihan Lawrence119 Hendrie AvenueRiverside$2.15M1-3 p.m.Coldwell Banker311 Cognewaugh RoadCos Cob$2.175M2-4 p.m.Weichert33 Pleasant StreetRiverside$2.195M1-4 p.m.BHHS21 Mohawk LaneGreenwich$2.195M1-3 p.m.Coldwell Banker14 Meadow RoadRiverside$2.195M2-4 p.m.Houlihan Lawrence82 Butternut HollowGreenwich$2.275M2-4 p.m.Coldwell Banker7 W CrosswayOld Greenwich$2.295M1-4 p.m.Greenwich Custom17 Byfield LaneGreenwich$2.295M1-4 p.m.BHHS116 Pecksland RoadGreenwich$2.375M1-4 p.m.William Pitt Sotheby’s39 Midbrook LaneOld Greenwich$2.395M1:30-3:30 p.m.Raveis16 Roosevelt AvenueOld Greenwich$2.395M12-4 p.m.Halstead28 Loading RockRiverside$2.4M2-4 p.m.Sotheby’s35 Indian Harbor #AGreenwich$2.45M11-1 p.m.Douglas Elliman53 Lockwood AvenueOld Greenwich$2.45M1-3 p.m.Sotheby’s5 Lia FailCos Cob$2.495M2-4 p.m.Sotheby’s6 Elizabeth LaneRiverside$2.495M2-4 p.m.Coldwell Banker443 North StreetGreenwich$2.65M2-4 p.m.Centric Property20 Steeple ChaseGreenwich$2.695M1-4 p.m.Coldwell Banker58 Connecticut AvenueGreenwich$2.75M1-4 p.m.Halstead2 Binney LaneOld Greenwich$2.895M2-4 p.m.Houlihan Lawrence