New Canaan Real Estate Activity October 6, 2008 through October 12, 2008 (Residential Only)

LOOKING AT THE WEEK AHEAD???

New Listings

321 Frogtown Rd $1,299,000
69 Louises Lane $1,425,000
27 Brushy Ridge Rd $1,750,000
18 Lantern Ridge Rd $1,849,500
68 Welles Lane $2,295,000
155 Brookwood Lane $2,395,000
30 Poconnock Trail $3,395,000
1054 Oenoke Ridge Rd $3,995,000

Pending Contracts

15 Richmond Hill $795,000
3 Charles Place $1,185,000
868 Silvermine Rd $1,199,000
214 Talmadge Hill Rd $2,799,000

Homes Sold

41 Cedar Lane $860,000
75 Louises Lane $2,585,000

Interview on Forbes.com and Open Houses this Weekend

Evelyn Rusli, a reporter with Forbes came out last Sunday to report on high end foreclosures in Fairfield County. She interviewed me at the site of my bank owned foreclosure listing at 184 Lukes Wood Road listed at $3,250,000. I will be holding an open house this coming Sunday, October 12, 2008 from 1-4PM.

www.newcanaancountryestate.com

I have included a link to the video interview.

http://www.forbes.com/video/?video=fvn/lifestyle/er_greenwichhousing100608&partner=email

Additional Open House

www.383greenleyroad.com

383 Greenley Road $2,395,000 Sunday October 12, 2008 1-4PM

New Canaan Real Estate Activity September 30, 2008 through October 5, 2008

Dow plunges 800 points and falls below 10,000 for first time since 2004. What's next?

New Listings

6 Leslie Lane $719,000

141 Milport Ave $869,000

28 Grace St $899,999

111 Glen Drive $1,050,000

144 Hillcrest Rd $1,299,000

257 Wahackme Rd $1,595,000

4 Parade Hill $1,95,000(relisted)

4 Smith Ridge Lane $2,895,000

121 Parish Road $4,995,000

Pending Contracts

102 Rocky Brook Rd $1,750,000

Homes Sold

146 Forest St $742,000

The State of the New Canaan Real Estate Market as reported to Forbes

I received a request from Forbes.com to comment on our high end market and how the rate of foreclosures are affecting real estate sales. Forbes did pick up on a listing of mine which is a bank owned high end property listed for sale at $3,250,000. It is located on Lukes Wood Rd and has a website called http://www.newcanaancountryestate.com/

Evelyn Rusli interviewed me this morning at the property before the public open house that was scheduled. The property was videotaped and the video clip will appear on Forbes.com this week. The focus of the report will be on the current state of the real estate market in lower Fairfield County.

I am unsure of the outcome of this video however the points I wanted stress about this property was that it's former sellers had a very long troubled history that went back far before the current crisis. They had gone into preforeclosure almost 2 years ago and originally listed the home with me for $4,000,000 in January of 2007. It was subsequently reduced to 3.8 million over the following 16 months but the former sellers mostly refused to have the property shown. The bank ultimately held a public auction in May of this year and purchased the property for the amount of their loan. They even very generously allowed the sellers until mid July to vacate the property. The bank is now acting like any other seller and then relisted the property with me at a deeply discounted price of $3,250,000. All the fat has been cut out of this property and it is receiving extremely high interest. The bank will consider serious offers. I am holding open houses for the public on Sunday afternoons in October including this afternoon.

It is a beautifully built stone colonial with a wood roof. The house was built in 1997 and is on over 7 acres on Lukes Wood Rd. It has 8,000 sq ft and has 6 bedroom, 5 full and 2 half baths, 5 fps and a full finished lower level with entertainment center, office, gym, rec room, bedroom and bath. The web site for this property is http://www.newcanaancountryestate.com/

Regarding the state of the real estate market in New Canaan, there are 242 homes on the market currently. We have had 149 homes sell this year versus 219 during the same time period in 2007. That represents a 38% decline in the number of transactions; however the average price of homes that sold this year is $2,190,000 versus $2,291,000, only a 5% decline and the median price only dropped 2% from 1.8 million to $1,765,000. Compared to the rest of the state a 2% decline in the median price is good versus an 8% decline statewide. The time on the market remains relatively stable with no increase from last year at 181 days and the list to sell ratio is 95% of asking price. The market here is certainly not dead, it is just more of a traditional market where the home is a place to live rather than an investment. My current inventory of listings is $38,358,500 with $11,000,000 sold or in contract.

How hard is it to get loans?
Mortgage money is available. Banks are requiring verifiable income rather than stated income or non verifiable income. They want a 20-25% down payment, credit scores of 680-720,
2 field appraisals if property is over 1,500,000 and if the property has some other unique attribute then a subsequent review appraisal
Money is available the key is to be able to verify income and Wall St bonuses to come is not considered verifiable income.

If you are a seller, keep in mind these tips as incentives to finding a buyer for your property.
Consider a mortgage abatement program where the seller pays the mortgage of the new buyer for period of 6 months to 1 year or a mortgage rate buy down incentive where the seller can buy down the interest rate of the new buyer below the current rate for a specified period of time. For example, 1 year, 2 years or 3 years.

Foreclosures
There are 15 preforeclosures somewhere in the chain in New Canaan. With 242 homes on the market that is only 6% of the homes for sale. Some of these homes will actually not be foreclosed on because some owners will find ways to come out of the situation.

To sum up, when real estate goes down, New Canaan goes down less. Even statewide, Connecticut is in much better shape than other states.

New Canaan Real Estate Activity September 22, 2008 through September 28, 2008 (Residential Only)

An Historic $700 billion dollar government bailout. Do we have an agreement?

New Listings

71 Rocky Brook $889,000 (relisted)

111 Nursery Rd $1,095,000

748 South Ave $1,285,000

394 Ponus Ridge $1,489,000

29 Church St $1,795,000

718 Silvermine Rd $1,999,999 (relisted)

6 Cecil Pl $2,075,000

846 Oenoke Ridge $2,195,000

383 Greenley Rd $2,395,000

264 South Ave $3,195,000

104 Dans Highway $24,000,000 (relisted)

Homes Sold

110 Glen Drive $1,230,000

97 Kimberly PL $1,400,000

Elegant New Listing in New Canaan

Visit www.383greenleyroad.com

Spectacular setting, tasteful renovation, elegant detailing and much more. $2,395,000
Mark you Calendars!
Grand Opening Public Open House on Sunday October 5, 1-4PM

New Canaan Real Estate Activity September 15, 2008 through September 21, 2008 (Residential Only

A Wild Week on Wall Street

New Listings

124 Farm Rd $925,000
144 Brushy Ridge Rd $1,295,000
40 Charter Oak Dr $1,799,000 (relisted)
575 Silvermine Rd $1,975,000
116 Adams Lane $2,395,000
797 Valley Rd $2,395,000 (relisted)
83 Lukes Wood Rd $4,250,000
87 North Wilton Rd $7,965,000

Pending Sales

115 Richmond Hill $795,000
41 Cedar Lane $895,000
480 Cedar Lane $995,000

Homes Sold

8 Tommy's Lane $1.095,000
71 Richmond Hill Rd $1,210,000
268 Briscoe Rd $1,295,000
1137 Smith Ridge Rd $2,300,000
88 Fieldcrest Rd $2,304,000
68 Woods End Rd $6,500,000

New Canaan Real Estate Activity September 8, 2008 through September 14, 2008 (Residential Only)

New York City Waterfalls

I visited the city where I was born on Sunday with some old school friends and had the chance to admire a really terrific major work of public art. The New York City Waterfall Project was implemented by artist Olarfur Eliasson and will run through October 13, 2008. The four waterfalls are 90 to 120 feet tall rising out of New York Harbor and are located at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge, Governors Island, Brooklyn Piers and Pier 35. All can be viewed from the South Street Seaport. If you have a chance to see them, it is really worth the visit.

New Listings

568 Old Stamford Rd $775,000 relisted

36 Comstock Hill Rd $1,050,000

44 Harrison Ave $1,250,000

7 Charles Pl $1,349,000

8 Wahackme La $1,895,000

19 Lakeview Lane $1,950,000 relisted

17 Journeys End Rd $2,295,000

145 Kimberly Pl $2,695,000 relisted

327 Frogtown Rd $2,750,000

42 Ferris Hill Rd $2,799,000 relisted

76 Mather Farm Rd $5,495,000 relisted

1132 Oenoke Ridge Rd $5,695,000

76 Louises La $5,895,000

198 Bridle Path La $6,245,000 relisted

731 Smith Ridge Rd $10,975,000

Pending Contracts

13 Summer St $579,000

8 Tommys La $1,125,000

Homes Sold

58 Briscoe Rd $2,400,000

NEW LISTING IN TOWN - ADORABLE VICTORIAN IN NEW CANAAN

36 HOYT STREET, NEW CANAAN, CT

STEPS FROM THE VILLAGE ON A PICTURESQUE CORNER WITH STONE WALL

TOTALLY REMODELED WITH NEW KITCHEN, 2 1/2 BATHS, 3 BEDROOMS, OFFICE AND DETACHED GARAGE

PROFESSIONALLY LANDSCAPED YARD WITH SPECIMEN TREES

AND A 200 YEAR OLD COPPER BEACH IN THE FRONT YARD

$949,900

VISIT WWW.36HOYTSTREET.COM

New Canaan Real Estate Activity September 1, 2008 through September 7, 2008 (Residential Only)

Hurricane Hanna is gone but Ike is coming!








New Listings
914 Silvermine Rd $799,000 (relisted)
36 Hoyt St $949,900
87 Juniper Rd $1,395,000
23 Braeburn Dr $1,795,000 (relisted)
1223 Oenoke Ridge Rd $1,995,000
56 Logan Rd $3,199,999 (relisted)
523 Oenoke Ridge Rd $3,500,000
226 Buttery Rd $3,995,000
2 Father Peters La $7,895,000

Pending Sales

41 Cedar La $895,000
97 Kimberly Pl $1,475,000

Sold

25 Meadow La $940,000
931 Ponus Ridge Rd $2,200,000
180 Marvin Ridge Rd $2,450,000

New Canaan Real Estate Activity August 25, 2008 through August 31, 2008 (Residential Only)

And The Race is On!

No New Listings

Pending Sales

71 Richmond Hill Rd $1,349,000
97 Kimberly Pl $1.475,000
62 White Oak Shade $1,575,000

Homes Sold

185 Old Norwalk Rd $725,000
42 Holly Rd $925,000
81 White Oak Shade Rd $2,275,000
1480 Ponus Ridge Rd $7,850,000

A Current Summary of the New Canaan Real Estate Market to date as of August 23, 2008

US Mens Volleyball Team Wins Gold


Residential Homes on the Market 233


Residential Sales to Date 2008 130
Residential Sales to Date 2007 203
Percent decline from 2007 to 2008 36%


Average Selling Price to date 2008 $2,200,523
Average Selling Price to date 2007 $2,326,233
Percent decline from 2007 to 2008 5.5%


Average Median Price to date 2008 $1,735,000
Average Median Price to date 2007 $1,800,000
Percent decline from 2007 to 2008 3.7%

*As of August 23, 3008