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I have really learned a lot from this forum. The knowledge of some of the CT locals on here is amazing!
My wife and I are long-term renters (currently in Norwalk) and are now looking at buying a house. As I work in the New Haven area and she needs to commute occasionally (once every week or two weeks) to NYC, we have become interested in the Trumbull/North Stratford area, due to the "more bang for our buck" factor compared to Westport/Fairfield.
Over the past several weeks we have found a few homes in the Roosevelt Forest/Beaver Dam Lake area of North Stratford that are really attractive - nice sizes, great yards, and beautiful neighborhoods, but much better prices than neighboring Trumbull and especially Fairfield. However, we are concerned that these houses appear to have shown no increase in value for many years. In fact, some are listed as selling for the same price in the late 80s/early 90s that they are now fetching. I find this surprising because this seems like an otherwise really great area.
So my questions are:
1) Is there something about this area of Stratford that I'm missing (I understand the property tax issue and schools issue but it doesn't seem those can account for all of this price stagnation)?
2) If we did purchase a house in that area, do you see home values moving on an upward trend due to the changing recent environment?
Thanks in advance for any insights from the forum!
City Data's great isn't it? especially when you get replies from the CT Forum's Fab Four here. I'm surprised I'm the first to reply, a low rank file member.
Better bang for the buck in Stratford than Westport? yeah, I would say so.
I assume regular Norwalk is too expensive?
Frankly, if you ask me, Trumbull and Fairfield are Glorified Stratfords anyway. That's not a bad thing.
If you're in for the long term and If you find a beautiful home at a comfortable price you can handle financially every month, then don't worry about future trends. Has to be LONG TERM though.
I have really learned a lot from this forum. The knowledge of some of the CT locals on here is amazing!
My wife and I are long-term renters (currently in Norwalk) and are now looking at buying a house. As I work in the New Haven area and she needs to commute occasionally (once every week or two weeks) to NYC, we have become interested in the Trumbull/North Stratford area, due to the "more bang for our buck" factor compared to Westport/Fairfield.
Over the past several weeks we have found a few homes in the Roosevelt Forest/Beaver Dam Lake area of North Stratford that are really attractive - nice sizes, great yards, and beautiful neighborhoods, but much better prices than neighboring Trumbull and especially Fairfield. However, we are concerned that these houses appear to have shown no increase in value for many years. In fact, some are listed as selling for the same price in the late 80s/early 90s that they are now fetching. I find this surprising because this seems like an otherwise really great area.
So my questions are:
1) Is there something about this area of Stratford that I'm missing (I understand the property tax issue and schools issue but it doesn't seem those can account for all of this price stagnation)?
2) If we did purchase a house in that area, do you see home values moving on an upward trend due to the changing recent environment?
Thanks in advance for any insights from the forum!
I live in Trumbull.
In a nutshell it's the schools and proximity to NYC.
I was born and raised in Stamford and we bought our house in Trumbull because we could not afford the Stamford area. My first choice to buy a house was Fairfield but the houses in our range needed lots of work and were smaller. When I first moved to Trumbull I didn't know about eastern Fairfield County like the people who have live here. I have had quite a few people move into my neighborhood from Shelton and Stratford. When I asked them why did you leave Shelton/Stratford they would tell me the schools. But have to say that I believe Shelton schools are getting better but Stratford is not.
If you don't need the schools and a large quick return on the house IMO northern Stratford is nice. Here are a few school rating sites so you can understand what I mean. I know the ratings are not perfect but you can get a sense. I think Schooldigger uses mostly test schools so that is why you will see a difference (like Trumbull higher than Fairfield) but then again all the sites have their own methodology.
Westport is always right up at the top and among the best schools in the state (if not the country). Trumbull, Fairfield, Monroe, Orange are all excellent school systems that are close to the Bridgeport area.
For return on investment think "who buys a house". Mostly young families who want a good school system. You want bang for your buck....Trumbull, Monroe, Orange and Newtown. In these towns the schools are right below the top tier CT schools for a fraction of the house price.
Thanks everyone. That is all really helpful. We are definitely aware of the issues with Stratford schools. I'm surprised that the schools in Stratford remain so underwhelming even with the property tax rates, but I also understand that the median income and home price in the town are low compared to adjacent cities like Trumbull. That is definitely worth keeping in mind, though.
We actually drove through the North Stratford area west of Roosevelt Forest (directly south of Route 8) yesterday on the way to apple picking in Shelton. We again found some homes for sale that we find really attractive for the list price, and find the neighborhood truly lovely.
I guess at the end of the day our major question is: if we take into account the Stratford schools and distance to NYC, is there anything else about that area of Stratford that should give us pause prior to purchasing a house? The homes, landscapes, proximity to shopping in Shelton, and walking distance to Roosevelt Forest are all really great features of the area, but we are also still pretty unfamiliar with Stratford and any thoughts one way or the other would be appreciated.
Thanks everyone. That is all really helpful. We are definitely aware of the issues with Stratford schools. I'm surprised that the schools in Stratford remain so underwhelming even with the property tax rates, but I also understand that the median income and home price in the town are low compared to adjacent cities like Trumbull. That is definitely worth keeping in mind, though.
We actually drove through the North Stratford area west of Roosevelt Forest (directly south of Route 8) yesterday on the way to apple picking in Shelton. We again found some homes for sale that we find really attractive for the list price, and find the neighborhood truly lovely.
I guess at the end of the day our major question is: if we take into account the Stratford schools and distance to NYC, is there anything else about that area of Stratford that should give us pause prior to purchasing a house? The homes, landscapes, proximity to shopping in Shelton, and walking distance to Roosevelt Forest are all really great features of the area, but we are also still pretty unfamiliar with Stratford and any thoughts one way or the other would be appreciated.
That area is nice, and safe.
Again, it’s an aggregate issue. Stratford has higher taxes, higher crime rates, worse performing schools than its neighbors, Milford, Shelton, and Trumbull. These towns are a minute away and better by many metrics so of course Stratford is a bargain. Even Orange isn’t far from north Stratford and has far superior schools and lower crime and taxes.
So the town as a whole just isn’t as desirable. Plus, I find Milford more attractive overall, with a similar mix of coastal and inland as Stratford, but Stratford certainly has a handful of nice areas like Lordship, Paradise Green, and the area you’re looking at. For what it’s worth, all towns in those areas have nice nature areas and parks.
If getting most bang for buck is your goal, it’s a great option. If the schools, taxes, and resale concerns are weighing on you, I’d look at Milford and Shelton literally minutes from there.
Edit: actually looks like crime has improved in Stratford lately and it’s on par with other towns. Used to be higher.
Thanks everyone. That is all really helpful. We are definitely aware of the issues with Stratford schools. I'm surprised that the schools in Stratford remain so underwhelming even with the property tax rates, but I also understand that the median income and home price in the town are low compared to adjacent cities like Trumbull. That is definitely worth keeping in mind, though.
We actually drove through the North Stratford area west of Roosevelt Forest (directly south of Route 8) yesterday on the way to apple picking in Shelton. We again found some homes for sale that we find really attractive for the list price, and find the neighborhood truly lovely.
I guess at the end of the day our major question is: if we take into account the Stratford schools and distance to NYC, is there anything else about that area of Stratford that should give us pause prior to purchasing a house? The homes, landscapes, proximity to shopping in Shelton, and walking distance to Roosevelt Forest are all really great features of the area, but we are also still pretty unfamiliar with Stratford and any thoughts one way or the other would be appreciated.
We have family that built a home in that exact area 50 years ago. They built a stunning home there that they sold a couple years ago. I was shocked at how little they got for the home. It was $35,000 less than what another family sold their MUCH more modest home in Fairfield. The homes were both well maintained. The Stratford home was a bigger custom design, had a two car garage and sat on an acre of land. The Fairfield home was a modest six room ranch with a one car garage and sat on a 5,000 square foot lot in what is likely Fairfield’s most modest neighborhood, Tunxis Hill. The taxes on the Stratford house were double the Fairfield home.
Their daughter said it was a fair price for Stratford and judging by the other sales on the street, she was right.
It simply comes down to desirability. Fairfield is perceived as an upscale affluent suburb with excellent schools while Stratford is perceived as a working class community with decent but sometime struggling schools. Portions of Stratford can be considered sketchy. No part of Fairfield is considered sketchy. Things like this make a big difference. People just aren’t willing to pay a premium to live in Stratford, like they are in Fairfield. The same could be said about Trumbull.
Trumbull is more similar to Fairfield. It is more middle and upper middle class than Stratford. I can’t tell you how many children of Fairfield people I know that moved to Trumbull to get a more fore their money. I only know two that moved to Stratford and one of them did not care about schools at all when looking. The schools in Trumbull are very good, if not excellent. CTartist gave a good comparison though I don’t necessarily agree with the rankings those websites give. In this case though, I agree with the relationship of these towns to each other. Also note that historically, towns with good schools will hold their value better in a down housing market.
Only you can decide if Stratford is right for you and your family. If schools are important to you, it may not be a good choice for your family. If you want value for your housing dollar, it may be a good alternative. Good luck with your decision. Jay
Stratford is in an interesting situation with it’s property taxes, school ratings and business tax base. The business tax base is not strong, one reason for high property taxes. Being the most affordable shoreline town in Fairfield County, there is a large population of older retired residents. Those residents don’t particularly care about supporting more spending on schools, they’re here to enjoy their golden years on fixed incomes.
Businesses won’t flock to town and invest because opportunities are better in Milford and Fairfield. Residents have more income to support those businesses, and so the cycle continues of less development and higher taxes. Ironically it is the improvement in school systems that will attract wealthier, educated residents to Stratford- which in turn will attract businesses to cater to those new residents- which in turn creates a stronger tax base to lower residential property taxes.
Then again, numerous people I know in town have sent their kids to private schools. The tuition and mortgage in Stratford was still a better value than neighboring towns for their situation. To be fair, things are changing quickly in Stratford this year with New Yorkers bidding wars on tight inventory.
I’ve seen town improve so much in 4 years; it has the momentum it needs to really take off and reach its potential.
I used to live in the Putney section of Stratford, which is just south of the Merritt, and found it to be a nice area and wonderfully convenient to shopping by Hawley Lane and Bridgeport Ave. But as you've noticed, property values, taxes and schools aren't that great. We took a bath when we sold out condo - very painful.
The reality is if you live in North Stratford, you are going to spend much of your time in Shelton and Trumbull for shopping, dining etc. So if you like the area, I would look at Shelton if for nothing else than the lower taxes. Trumbull too, although I think the taxes are a bit higher than in Shelton, but the schools are better. Both those towns are likely to outpace Stratford property values, especially in that area.
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