Here we are 1 week away from Rowayton's official 'summer kick-off' weekend and it is 48 degrees??!! I'm thinking that usually, by now, we are in skirts and flip flops...
Well, this slow-to-pick-up weather may be contributing to a slower than usual Spring market, but as we're sure you know, it's mainly because we're still trying to fight our way out of this recession.
With that being said, we were looking at the inventory yesterday and it is just shocking how many homes are on the market- in my 8+ years selling here, I've never seen this many homes for sale! 87 homes are being marketed for sale right now and in a healthier market, we'd really like to see somewhere between 55-65. For a small village like Rowayton, that roughly 30 more homes available makes a dramatic difference. To break it down even further, so you may see where we've had some pockets of activity, we have about 5 homes under $1M that have taken offers, 2 homes between $1M-1.5M that have accepted offers, 1 home between $1.5M-2M and NOTHING over $2M is moving... This is what we'd expect, though disappointing, for a real estate market that is supposedly on the verge of 'recovery' mode. The lower price ranges are starting to see some more solid (albeit slow,) activity, which then eventually trickles up to the higher ranges... I guess what we are saying here today, is that PATIENCE is the name of this game...
Onto more fun stuff- Joe and I are having our annual Memorial Day party in Rowayton this coming Sunday. There is no place like Rowayton on Memorial Day weekend... truly! Come watch the parade make way through town and then stop over to our house on McKinley for some drinks, dogs & live music!

86 Homes on the market. 'nuf said.
Well, ok, not really.... COME ON!! Buyers! This is the most amazing opportunity, any home to choose from, combined with tax credits for first-timers & mortgage rates at all-time lows... We know you've heard it all, but every week we're seeing more and more rentals being rented and we just can't understand it!
Ok, now I'm done. :)

Ok- so we can never have things just the way we want, and there will always be something to complain about... this is what I am talking about:

We have a buyer we've been working with for quite some time and they finally found a house that they both love...so what happens? We toy with the idea of making an offer and I call the listing agent...TOO LATE. The house came on the market last week and has an accepted offer with 2 backup offers behind it. So now... where is this 'slow market' when we need it?? hmm?

On another note, we heard from a client who is selling their house in Darien and thinking of moving to Rowayton... they have come to terms with a buyer and are ready to find something here- this is great news and goes right along with what we've heard- that activity is picking up in Darien. We know that everyone is not getting the prices that they were getting in the last 5 years or so, but we wish that everyone would look on the bright side- you can also BUY something that you might not have been able to afford in the last 5 years!! And these rates are still giving most buyers an opportunity that they may not see again once the rates start to creep up!
We hope you all are enjoying your spring and even though we haven't seen the sun in a few days (and they say we have a few more ahead,) we know it's around the corner and are looking forward to Memorial Day to kick off the summer season!
Take care & as always, if you hear of anyone looking to buy or sell, please let us know! :)