[karelise]

On another thread I posted I mentioned that I hadnt seen many price reductions on houses ( $250k and under) in the West Hartford area. Someone mentioned that it was still a seller's market in WH. Is there just not enough inventory? Would you say the surrounding areas (ones with good schools and safe for families) like Farmington, Glastonbury, Granby and Canton are also still seller's markets?

thanks!

[JayCT]

According to Amy's post on the "Average Heating Cost in CT", Avon, Farmington, Glastonbury, Newington, Simsbury, West Hartford and Wethersfield are all considered seller's market. From my observations of Glastonbury, I can agree with that. Two homes just came on the market in my neighborhood and were sold in days. A few months ago the same thing. I guess you could say location is everything. Jay

[AmyBergquist]

Here's the data Jay is referencing...



Specifically looking at West Hartford, as of right now, there are 240 single family houses listed for sale in the Multiple Listing Service. Of those 240 houses, 115 of them are $300K or less, or 48% of the housing market for sale in West Hartford.

Just in the price range of $0-$300K, there is only 2.9 months of inventory for West Hartford and houses in that price range are only on the market for 39 days on average before they go under contract. That's very quick by today's standards for other towns.

West Hartford has been fairly insulated because people find the school system desirable and like the "feel" the town offers. Walkablility, shopping options, proximity to Hartford for commuting, etc. Additionally, much of the housing stock is in the first time buyer range, so it attracts a lot of buyers.

[karelise]

So Amy, I read your info which is very helpful, and your other responses on the 'average heating costs' thread. I was just wondering if the buyers who had closing costs paid for by the sellers were in West hartford or were they in othere areas that might be considered more of a buyer's market? Also, Rich Lee wrote that houses in West Hartford ( or in any seller's market) sold within 95 % of the asking price - or something along those lines. Is that your experience with houses under $250k in West Hartford or is there more variation between the listing price and the actual sale price?

thanks for any input you can offer. We're just trying to understand if it's a realistic possibility for us and we're tight on closing cost funds and need to staay under $230 or so to keep payments reasonable ( especially since heating costs take up such a big chunk).

[MikefromCT]

Originally Posted by karelise

So Amy, I read your info which is very helpful, and your other responses on the 'average heating costs' thread. I was just wondering if the buyers who had closing costs paid for by the sellers were in West hartford or were they in othere areas that might be considered more of a buyer's market? Also, Rich Lee wrote that houses in West Hartford ( or in any seller's market) sold within 95 % of the asking price - or something along those lines. Is that your experience with houses under $250k in West Hartford or is there more variation between the listing price and the actual sale price?

thanks for any input you can offer. We're just trying to understand if it's a realistic possibility for us and we're tight on closing cost funds and need to staay under $230 or so to keep payments reasonable ( especially since heating costs take up such a big chunk).

Are you strictly looking at houses only? Because you could easily find a nice condo for that price, many of which are close to the center/downtown area. You could probably find a decent house for under $230k, but it's likely to be a smaller, postwar house, without the bells and whistles. In other words, a basic house, 2 or 3 bedrooms just over 1,000 square feet. And the interiors may be older, meaning an outdated kitchen that looked hip in the 60s but looks wildly outof place today. Have you checked remax.com or prudentialct.com? You should be able to find something on one of these.

[AmyBergquist]

Originally Posted by karelise

So Amy, I read your info which is very helpful, and your other responses on the 'average heating costs' thread. I was just wondering if the buyers who had closing costs paid for by the sellers were in West hartford or were they in othere areas that might be considered more of a buyer's market? Also, Rich Lee wrote that houses in West Hartford ( or in any seller's market) sold within 95 % of the asking price - or something along those lines. Is that your experience with houses under $250k in West Hartford or is there more variation between the listing price and the actual sale price?

thanks for any input you can offer. We're just trying to understand if it's a realistic possibility for us and we're tight on closing cost funds and need to staay under $230 or so to keep payments reasonable ( especially since heating costs take up such a big chunk).

It really is all going to depend on the seller, rather than the specific town, and how much equity they have in the house. If they don't have much equity, they most likely won't be able to or willing to cover your closing costs for you because they'll need whatever cash they can extract from the house for their next move.

If you can find a house where someone has lived for a long time and they have quite a bit of equity, it may be easier to negotiate that they cover your closing costs. This was the case in the buyers I represented this year that had closing costs covered by the seller (5 of them, my other buyers did not need closing costs covered). There was quite a bit of equity in each house and the seller was taking away a pretty big check. If they need to give you back $5,000-ish at closing, it's not that big of a deal to them.

Also keep in mind that if you are asking them to cover closing costs, they may not be as flexible on the price negotiation.

Houses $250K and below were selling at 97% of list price from 5/1/08 through today. There were 82 transactions in that price range.

[canuckexpat]

Amy, quick question. I always thought that Newington and Rocky Hill were more or less similar types of neighbourhoods. Any particular reason why Rocky Hill has 8 months inventory vs 3.5 months in Newington, other than what the figures above a showing?

[AmyBergquist]

Originally Posted by canuckexpat

Amy, quick question. I always thought that Newington and Rocky Hill were more or less similar types of neighbourhoods. Any particular reason why Rocky Hill has 8 months inventory vs 3.5 months in Newington, other than what the figures above a showing?

Rocky Hill has a lot less housing stock than Newington, 8,482 units vs. 12,680 units, and the number of closed sales per year is typically about half of what sells in Newington. 113 homes sold in Rocky Hill last year versus 244 homes sold in Newington last year.

Newington's lower median price could contribute to why things are moving more quickly there. More buyers for the lower price ranges. Additionally, Rocky Hill had more new construction, which is very high priced for the area $360K-$650K, so that will slow things down if they don't sell, contributing to a higher months inventory figure.

[karelise]

thanks all.

Mike - yes, we need a house - two small kids. We know we're looking at something basic and starter home-ish at our price point but it's a start. My big fear with those small, older houses (besides running out of room before we move in) is tht they may not hold good resale value in the future. It's not like a lot of people are looking for small, outdated and minimal bathrooms. ....

But with the high property taxes in West Hartford and CT as a whole, we're not sure whether it's a viable option or not unless we can either get some flexibility with the price or closing costs ( we would be moving from elsewhere in the country, so that takes up a big chunk of change).

[JayCT]

I think a lot of people turn to Newington because it is very nice and it is affordable. There are many more modest homes there. While it is a very nice town, I always thought Rocky Hill was a bit pricey for what you get. But that is just MHO.

Karelise - I would not worry about buying a smaller older home. It will be considered a starter home and there is always a market for them particularly if it is in a nice neighborhood. Since you are on a tight budget, you might consider a more affordable town. I would start in West hartford but if you can't find what suits you, move on to towns like Newington or Wethersfield. Good luck, Jay