[UpperWestBruin]

Hi All,

I currently live in Manhattan but am thinking about moving to Fairfield County in a few years when my newborn child is old enough for school.

Top two towns are Darien and Westport, followed by New Canaan and Greenwich. I'm drawn to the beauty, good public schools, proximity to the City, and location on the water. Also, since I work in finance, I may eventually switch to one of the CT hedge funds for a shorter commute. My concern, however, is developing a community since we would be leaving such great friends in the City (Are people friendly? Any Asian Americans out there having a hard time "fitting in"?)

Have prices been adjusting down, or holding steady? Any way to track them the way streeteasy.com does for NYC listings? (streeteasy shows listing price history.) I don't really have a budget yet, since I plan on staying put for at least 2 years, but I want to start getting a sense of housing out there.

I appreciate any insight you may have!

[HelloSam]

On Raveis.com, you can see recent sales in your preferred towns to get a sense of where things are.

[UpperWestBruin]

Thanks!

[hsw]

Would argue Greenwich is more relevant from a career/networking standpoint than the other towns, as more hedge fund founders/senior execs live in Greenwich, as opposed to any other suburban town....and pvt schools tend to be more relevant than public schools in terms of contacts among parents...

Doubt Greenwich is any less friendly than Manhattan...or SiliconValley....these are each highly competitive, Darwinian industry towns, after all....

Many Jewish and Asian-descent hedge fund colleagues have remarked that Greenwich is generally unfriendly to those who are non-WASP, non-old money.....but would observe that most of the <40yo guys who are buying desirable land to build their new houses simply don't fit longstanding Greenwich social "profiles"...jealousy manifests in various forms when new-money supersedes alleged old-money....

Not surprisingly, real est seems rather soft in the area....many new, unsold spec houses in the $5MM+ range....and desirable land is awfully cheap and plentiful....

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by hsw

Not surprisingly, real est seems rather soft in the area....many new, unsold spec houses in the $5MM+ range....and desirable land is awfully cheap and plentiful....

I would not characterize land in Greenwich being cheap by any stretch of the imagination. There is not a lot of it available. Lets just say the prices have softened, but it is still pricey. Jay

[Aibutiej]

I find useful information on zillow.com.

[UpperWestBruin]

Thanks for the sites. Anyone see/experience housing prices softening?

[JayCT]

Yes, housing prices are softening. No one knows how "soft" they will get but it will be a while before things improve. It might be a good time to be a buyer. JMHO Jay

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by UpperWestBruin

Thanks for the sites. Anyone see/experience housing prices softening?

New construction in New Canaan appears to be the "softest". Many listings that have been on the market for 18+months.

[Juniper5]

Log onto www.kellyrealestate.com. That's the biggest realton in Darien. Then ask them to email you the sold sheets which get sent out every wednesday. It will show you what sold that week and also what other properties eventually closed at. What the property closed at is everything. Plenty of asian americans in Darien. I think it's because the Presbie church here has a large asian following. Darien real estate is doing the best in Fairfield county according to the Stamford advocate. We just sold our house here and it went in 1 day. We are off to Pittsburgh for 3 years..huge drag.