[beerisgood02]

Originally Posted by NewJeffCT

I think you'd be surprised - a lot of younger families will "buy in" to a more expensive town so their children can go to the schools there, even if it means living in a smaller home and/or on a busy street. When I was a kid, we moved from Middletown to Cromwell because the schools there were better. When I had a kid, I moved from Newington to Avon because the schools were better, and our Newington home was purchased by a guy moving his family from New Britain to Newington for the schools.

Lots of families do this, but you just have to be comfortable being in a wealthy town in a lower class neighborhood. Not everyone wants to live like that.

[CTartist]

Originally Posted by tax_tax_tax_tax

What a joke.

Updated?! It doesn't even have central air. Oil heat?!!

Half a million dollars for <1,300 square feet. LOL.

I wish I had $470,000 to invest. I'd buy that house. It's in a great area and in fabulous condition. My friend bought a little cape near the thruway for about $500,000 in Westport and it needed tons of work. It was that bad.

[Raider111]

Originally Posted by beerisgood02

Lots of families do this, but you just have to be comfortable being in a wealthy town in a lower class neighborhood. Not everyone wants to live like that.

100% Correct.

Don't know about Avon or Newington, but down here its all about the flashy 1M+ home, which is what the majority of the Westport buying pool wants.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Raider111

100% Correct.

Don't know about Avon or Newington, but down here its all about the flashy 1M+ home, which is what the majority of the Westport buying pool wants.

I would think most buyers in the $500,000 price range would just assume Westport is out of their price range and not even bother looking there. They would likely opt for neighboring Fairfield or even Trumbull or Monroe. Jay

[tax_tax_tax_tax]

That's pretty sad.

What exactly does Westport offer that's so great?

There are good schools to be found everywhere throughout the state. What else is oh so special about it?

Half a million dollars buys a nice home with modern amenities even in Glastonbury, Avon, etc. But I suppose CT just magically ends east of Fairfield anyway, in the eyes of those lower-FFC buyers

Originally Posted by CTartist

I wish I had $470,000 to invest. I'd buy that house. It's in a great area and in fabulous condition. My friend bought a little cape near the thruway for about $500,000 in Westport and it needed tons of work. It was that bad.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by tax_tax_tax_tax

That's pretty sad.

What exactly does Westport offer that's so great?

There are good schools to be found everywhere throughout the state. What else is oh so special about it?

Half a million dollars buys a nice home with modern amenities even in Glastonbury, Avon, etc. But I suppose CT just magically ends east of Fairfield anyway, in the eyes of those lower-FFC buyers

It is called LOCATION. And as most real estate experts will tell you, that is the most important rule in real estate. Jay

[tax_tax_tax_tax]

Thanks for the real estate lesson, but my point stands. What exactly is so great about the location? To say that it's NYC commutable is a stretch, unless one wants to devote 3 plus hours a day just to commuting. What else is it proximate to that's so great....Bridgeport?!




][/I]

Originally Posted by JayCT

It is called LOCATION. And as most real estate experts will tell you, that is the most important rule in real estate. Jay

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by tax_tax_tax_tax

Thanks for the real estate lesson, but my point stands. What exactly is so great about the location? To say that it's NYC commutable is a stretch, unless one wants to devote 3 plus hours a day just to commuting. What else is it proximate to that's so great....Bridgeport?!




][/I]

You can't be that ignorant on CT real estate values. Are you not from the area?

NYC commutability plus high paying jobs in FFC is the sole reason.

People put up with a longer commute because of good schools and drastically lower taxes than Westchester/LI.

Have you seen property values in lower Westchester? They dwarf even Westport in the top school districts.

It should come as no surprise how expensive Westport is with an hour train to GCT.

[mlassoff]

Westport schools are ranked among the best in the country. It may not be important to you, however, many top schools look VERY favorably on Staples graduates. The high school has a very high percentage of Ivy (and potted Ivy) admission. The drama program, communications program frequently win nation-wide awards. There's ample opportunity for AP class with a very high AP pass rate.... The facility is like a small college with indoor pool, field house, state-of-the-art labs, etc...

The shoreline community offers very high QOL. Low crime, access to arts, dining, etc (This does not distinguish it from Fairfield).

All that aside, Jay is correct, LOCATION. It's commutable to NYC. It has two town beaches. You have access to I95 and the Merritt.

Part of what people are paying for is the reputation, honestly. It's where Ricky and Lucy moved when the left the city Either you value these things or you don't. Some value a bigger house in a town with fewer accoutrements... Nothing wrong with that.

[CTartist]

Originally Posted by tax_tax_tax_tax

What exactly does Westport offer that's so great?

Location, Location, Location* + Schools.

*It's on the "Gold Coast" of Fairfield County which includes beaches and boating etc. within a good commute to NYC.

Let me put it another way also. Whenever I go to a Board of Ed meeting in Trumbull and the school system wants to keep raising my taxes to make the school system better the one they always point out is Westport. I always hear "we want a school system like Westport". Westport is a Gold Standard school system.