Patch Comes to Fairfield County

Patch has come to our Fairfield County towns!  Check it out.  It’s an online chronicle of local news, events, meetings and more.  Each Patch website is chock full of town-specific info, stuff that can’t wait for the weekly newspaper cycle.  There’s full time editorial staff and public participation is encouraged: post your pictures, high school sports videos, restaurant reviews and more.  Each Patch site has twitter feeds and email updates.  It’s so simple to use, you got to try it!

I write a regular real estate column for Ridgefield Patch and hope to get involved in the other towns as well.  Full disclosure: I don’t get paid and I have no financial interest in Patch.  However, I do see the need for folks to get accurate, insightful real estate information and advice.  So I contribute exclusive content twice a month along with various postings, comments and restaurant reviews.  Here are my 2 latest articles:

On Real Estate: Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010!
On Real Estate: Save Money, Stay Warm

If you want to check out Patch for yourself (and I encourage everyone to participate!) here are the links:

Ridgefield Patch
Wilton Patch
Westport Patch
Brookfield Patch (coming soon)

1. Foreclosure sales are found in cities and the towns alike including Stamford, Danbury, Norwalk, Ridgefield, Wilton, Redding, Westport, Weston and more.
2. Not all foreclosure are “great deals”… yet.  Some bank asset managers are eager to sell quickly, some prefer to wait to try to extract a higher price.  Sooner or later everything sells for a discount to market value.
3. As sellers, the banks are not emotional.  For them it’s all business.  They typically want to close within 45 days and by the 3rd week in any given month (so theY can book the sale and clear the asset off of their balance sheet).
4. Foreclosure sales are “as-is”.  In most cases the bank has never seen the house so they can make no representation.  Be sure to complete a thorough property inspection.
5. All prices are negotiable, terms are not.  I write up foreclosure deals on a standard real estate contract with the bank’s specific contract addendum.  These documents are usually non-negotiable.  You’ll have your attorney review all the documents.
6. Foreclosures come in all shapes and sizes from multi-families to luxury single-family homes.  They can range from poor condition to unfinished to good condition.  End users will want something completely different than investors.

Contact me directly if you have any questions about bank-owned foreclosure properties or if you would like me to find you a great deal.  I have the experience necessary to get you the absolute best possible price and to guide you to a smooth closing.  KEep checking back with Real Estate Chocolate as I will be posting more articles on buying foreclosure properties in Fairfield County.

1. Real estate is my full-time profession and I LOVE IT.  I have an MBA from the Stern Business School (NYU) and I take my clients’ business of buying and selling residential property very seriously.  I have been negotiating deals for over 20 years and work very hard to get the absolute best deal possible for each of my clients.
2. My real estate business includes traditional buying and selling as well as bank-owned foreclosures and distress sales.  My clients rave about my work!
3. I actively cover all of Fairfield County including Ridgefield, Danbury, Newtown, Stamford, Wilton, Norwalk, Redding, Bethel, Weston, Westport and more.
4. My favorite recreational activities are road-biking, mountain-biking, hiking and snowshoeing.  I always bring my dog (except on the road).
5. I started Real Estate Chocolate because I have so much to offer and I see a need to help active and passive participants in real estate.   I want to share information and insights that will enable people to make the best buying and selling decisions in this dynamic real estate market.  I also thought my blog would be good for business.  It is.
6. I am an active citizen in my community and participate and volunteer in several ways: ROAR (Ridgefield Operation for Animal Rescue), RACE (Ridgefield Action Committee for the Environment), Ridgefield Affordable Housing Committee and Norwalk River Valley Trail Planning  Committee .
7. Why “Real Estate Chocolate”?   Well, the blog is mostly centered around smart and honest real estate advice and everyone loves chocolate. So I came up with a name that captures the imagination and makes the blog very inviting: Real Estate Chocolate.
8. Interesting fact: when I first started Real Estate Chocolate, I used a logo that was a take-off on the ubiquitous Hershey Bar.  Not long after I launched,  I received a cease and desist letter from Hershey’s attorneys demanding that I stop using a likeness of their trademarked candy bar.  I really caught the attention of the big guys!
9. I enjoy biking and hiking in many of the woods, forests and open spaces throughout Fairfield County (see this post and this post).  My favorites include Huntington State Park in Redding, Tarrywile Park in Danbury, Trout Brook Valley Preserve in Easton and Bennetts Ponds State Park in Ridgefield.
10. My readership has been steadily growing since I started blogging.  It is amazing how valuable my readers find my work and how far my readership reaches.

Here’s my 5 fave local blogs:

CTWatchdog – After 40+ faithful years at The Hartford Courant, George Gombossy got canned for DOING HIS JOB!  Well, George don’t need no stickin’ Courant!  He started CT Watchdog to help keep an eye on things.

CT Green Scene – From air quality and activism to watersheds and volunteer opps, this blog and associated network is devoted to sustainability within our state and beyond.

Fairfield County Business Journal – This blog complements the weekly print edition.  Simply stated: everything business in Fairfield County.

CT Bites – Foodies delight!  This online foodfest for Fairfield County will make your mouth water.

The Last Great Glass – Ancona’s take on fine wine and craft beer.  Great insights on what to drink.  Personally, I’m partial to the beer.

Fairfield County Real Estate eBook

Some Fairfield County home buyers might not fully understand how to grab that $8,000 that Uncle Sam if offering.  Hey, it’s yours to take, SO TAKE IT!

Here’s a FREE eBook from Real Estate Chocolate that’ll get you understanding exactly what you need to do and when in order to take advantage of this unbelievable program.

EIGHT THOUSAND DOLLARS!  What could you do with that.  Let’s see….  buy furniture for you new house, paint and decorate, reduce your monthly payments, by a car.

Check out the eBook now!

$8,000 Closer to Home

–

2009 presented many challenges for sellers, agents and believe it or not, buyers too.  Check out the 2009 stats in the table below and you’ll see that in all the Fairfield County municipalities listed, prices fell about 11% on average.  Transaction volume, well that was off in the towns but not so much in the cities.  Stamford and Norwalk each posted about a 5% increase in the number of deals while Danbury showed a modest decline.

As prices fell throughout the year, the smart sellers made repairs, priced their house at market value and were able to sell quickly and painlessly.  Others found the market to be hostile.  Overpriced homes (probably 50% – 75% of the 2009 inventory) languished on the market, frustrating owners who did not believe that declining values hit THEIR property.  Those in denial paid in frustration, anguish and ultimately a lower price for their home because it was on the market longer as prices declined.

For buyers, 2009 was a year of good deals, great deals (foreclosures and short sales) and some difficult deals as personalities, attitudes and anger made made for many acrimonious negotiations.  For the most part, residential property values fell back to around 2003 levels.

Real estate agents found 2009 to be a challenge.  The good ones worked on developing the new skills that the market now demands.  For me, I can say that I worked harder than ever to make sure my clients’ worked out in their favor.  Negotiating last year’s deals and seeing them through to close required strict attention to all the details, patience and skill.

	2009 mean	Pct Chg from 2008	2009 median	Pct Chg from 2008	2009 #Trans	Pct Chg from 2008
Brookfield	417,420	-11.8%	384,000	-8.5%	125	-23.3%
Danbury	309,927	-13.9%	290,000	-12.1%	324	-3.0%
Newtown	428,668	-15.2%	420,000	-9.3%	212	-7.0%
Norwalk	529,423	-22.7%	440,000	-14.3%	439	5.5%
Redding	664,338	-7.4%	559,000	-12.0%	70	-6.7%
Ridgefield	759,494	-11.4%	645,000	-11.0%	220	-8.3%
Stamford	665,915	-13.0%	575,000	-10.2%	488	4.9%
Weston	936,173	-20.4%	825,000	-11.3%	92	-20.7%
Westport	1,419,436	-16.9%	1,188,500	-12.0%	250	-7.7%
Wilton	915,137	-12.9%	756,250	-10.7%	136	-16.6%

All data is from the CMLS and believed to be accurate and reliable.

The transaction price erosion we saw at the highest level is driven mainly by 2 factors: overall decline in market values and the shifting focus of buyers toward more modest dwellings.

Anyone care to make a prediction?  Will the high-end buyers be back in 2010?  Personally, I think we’ll see more attention on luxury homes in the coming year as pent up demand will bring more buyers to this market segement while at the same time, many are tiring of the selling process and will do “whatever it takes” to get their homes sold.

Northern Fairfield County’s Biggest Deals of 2009 list won’t make the Forbes World’s Most Expensive Homes list, but they are beautiful and luxurious.  Check out all the 2009 biggest deals below:

Biggest Residential Real Estate Deals of 2009

You’ve got a $1,000,000 house you are selling and you think “what do first-time home buyers have to do with selling my house”…..  everything!

Because my friend, the buying and selling marketplace for real estate is kinda like those Russian stacking dolls, it goes something like this:

The single guy who just got married sells his Stamford studio and buys a 1 bedroom condo at Village Walk in Wilton.

The couple in the Village Walk condo just had their first child and they buy a starter home in the Grassy Plain neighborhood of Bethel.

The small family from Grassy Plain in Bethel just had twins so they buy a 4 bedroom colonial in the Ridgebury section of Ridgefield.

And finally the folks in Ridgebury with kids already in the Ridgefield schools are staying in town and trading up to buy your $1,000,000 house in West Mountain Estates.

You’re getting the picture, right.  Just like the stacking dolls that are so reliant on each other.  So… no matter what type or style of home you need to sell, you are counting on the first time home buyers and the stimulus tax incentive.  Embrace the tax credit concept even if you don’t initially see how it will directly help you in the sale of your home.

Contact me directly if you have any real estate questions.  My expert advice is always free and cheerfully delivered.

I’ve sold a bunch of investment properties this year and I continue to meet new investors ready to take advantage of the turmoil in the real estate market.  And when you find a great bank foreclosure or short sale deal, Yahoo Finance has a terrific real estate investment analyzer that calculates cash flows and IRR’s.  Just plug in your numbers and see your investment will return!

And while were talking about investment property, here are several that are currently listed for sale and could be the NEXT GREAT BUY!   Call me and let me know what your investment criteria are and we’ll work together to get you the best deal out there.  These are just SOME of the bank foreclosures and short sales available today:

Since home values have fallen and mortgage rates are so low, I’m seeing many more 1st time home buyers looking to take advantage in towns that used to be a financial stretch.  Indirectly, the home buyer credit is enabling many trade-up buyers to act since they are now able to get their existing homes sold in a reasonable amount of time.

All in all, the credit is helping all home sellers no matter if you at the “starter home” end of the spectrum or have a 5 bedroom colonial you need to sell.