[NewJeffCT]

and, Weichert is not a major realtor in this area - the two biggest, based on just seeing their signs around town, are Coldwell Banker and Berkshire-Hathaway/Prudential.

And, going month-by-month over the past year, except for a dip last August, the median sales price has been going up in East Lyme (Niantic is part of East Lyme)

[CrescentFresh]

Originally Posted by Stratford, Ct. Resident

The area shouldn't decline in quality. I'm guessing that the projected value decline that you are seeing is based upon a projected decline in casino jobs due to the impending casinos in MA. I wouldn't expect to see major gains in value for homes in the southeast corner, but i wouldn't expect to see the bottom fall out either. As an investment, not the best choice. As a "home", a fine choice.

Ah this makes sense. This is the kind of info I was hoping to get.

Definitely not worried about it as an investment... At least not short term. I love the area and would like to find somewhere to settle.

Edit: as a side note, and kind of off topic, if anyone has any realtors they recommend for that area (East Lyme specifically), toss me a PM with some contact info!

[mrgmrg]

I wouldn't invest in SE Connecticut right now. Pfizer has largely left and will probably leave completely as soon as is feasible. The casinos are going to take a hit because of Massachusetts and legalized online gambling in Jersey (and have been struggling anyway). The submarine base in Groton is perennially threatened with further cuts or elimination entirely, which effects the satellite businesses of General Dynamics/Electric Boat. Aside from tourism, which is largely just Mystic, that's most major sectors of the economy in that area of the state.

I would not be surprised if those combined to have a negative impact on home values in the low-to-mid range. SE CT is kind of a high/low area in terms of the market--Lyme/Old Lyme, Stonington Borough, downtown Mystic, Fenwick, Groton Long Point, Noank Village, Mason's Island, Mumford Cove, etc.--will probably not be seriously affected by these shifts because a significant number of the people who live there tend to be second-home-owners, retirees, or others who aren't dependent on the local economy for employment. But in the price range you're talking about, I would be very careful not to overpay.

This figure from kidyankee is telling: "This [sales price figure] represents an increase of 12.5%, or $35,100, compared to the prior quarter and a decrease of 20.6% compared to the prior year."

[NewJeffCT]

Originally Posted by mrgmrg

I wouldn't invest in SE Connecticut right now. Pfizer has largely left and will probably leave completely as soon as is feasible. The casinos are going to take a hit because of Massachusetts and legalized online gambling in Jersey (and have been struggling anyway). The submarine base in Groton is perennially threatened with further cuts or elimination entirely, which effects the satellite businesses of General Dynamics/Electric Boat. Aside from tourism, which is largely just Mystic, that's most major sectors of the economy in that area of the state.

I would not be surprised if those combined to have a negative impact on home values in the low-to-mid range. SE CT is kind of a high/low area in terms of the market--Lyme/Old Lyme, Stonington Borough, downtown Mystic, Fenwick, Groton Long Point, Noank Village, Mason's Island, Mumford Cove, etc.--will probably not be seriously affected by these shifts because a significant number of the people who live there tend to be second-home-owners, retirees, or others who aren't dependent on the local economy for employment. But in the price range you're talking about, I would be very careful not to overpay.

This figure from kidyankee is telling: "This [sales price figure] represents an increase of 12.5%, or $35,100, compared to the prior quarter and a decrease of 20.6% compared to the prior year."

Pfizer still has over 3,000 employees in the area and are going to be staying through at least 2017 according to the Pfizer employees that I know in the area. One employee that's been renting for 5 years now is finally sure enough to start looking to actually buy a house.

[mrgmrg]

I commend your friend for trusting and believing in Pfizer, but based on their generally destructive and wholly self-interested conduct in SE CT thus far, I question whether that trust and belief is naive. Even giving Pfizer the benefit of the doubt and believing they'll stay 'till 2017, it would still be a poor investment to buy in a community like East Lyme that has its fortunes tied closely to Pfizer now, in 2014.

[CrescentFresh]

Hmm, that's interesting. To be honest, I'm not worried about employment itself, but I am worried about the area declining because of other folks losing their jobs. I wouldn't want it to end up kind of empty and hollow feeling like New London has been (no offense to NL-ers meant, it just has a lot of boarded up stuff). We live in a very affluent area now (which is why houses are so high), so we're not in a "we NEED to leave" mode. We'd just rather buy than rent and we love the East Lyme area.

Stuff to think about for sure.

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by CrescentFresh

Hmm, that's interesting. To be honest, I'm not worried about employment itself, but I am worried about the area declining because of other folks losing their jobs. I wouldn't want it to end up kind of empty and hollow feeling like New London has been (no offense to NL-ers meant, it just has a lot of boarded up stuff). We live in a very affluent area now (which is why houses are so high), so we're not in a "we NEED to leave" mode. We'd just rather buy than rent and we love the East Lyme area.

Stuff to think about for sure.

I don't think you need to be nervous about that area becoming a ghost town. We're not PA(no offense meant to them). However, if you are too skittish(and you shouldn't be), then start looking at the area around Clinton and to the west of it. There's a zero percent chance of ghosting there.

[NewJeffCT]

Originally Posted by mrgmrg

This figure from kidyankee is telling: "This [sales price figure] represents an increase of 12.5%, or $35,100, compared to the prior quarter and a decrease of 20.6% compared to the prior year."

If you go further on in the same paragraph - price per square foot is up 26.6% over the prior year as well. So, more smaller homes are selling for higher prices.

[mrgmrg]

To clarify, I wouldn't worry about the entire SE CT area, just certain communities within it. I would buy in Lyme, Old Lyme, and certain communities within Mystic/Noank/Stonington because they're not closely tied to the local economy--lots of retirees, second home owners, the independently wealthy, and some people who commute to Hartford or New Haven. Communities like East Lyme, Waterford, Ledyard, the city of Groton, etc., which are more middle-class and largely have populations that work locally I wouldn't feel totally confident investing in.

[NewJeffCT]

Originally Posted by CrescentFresh

My wife and I have been looking at purchasing a home in Niantic, but we've noticed all real estate sites showing falling home values across the southeastern portion of CT. They're even projected to fall another 3%+ for next year.

Should we hold off on buying in the area? (Or completely avoid it..)

For what it's worth, we previously lived in Middletown CT and are very familiar with the area. I'm from Rhody, so I have a good feel for the general region. We have three kids (one in K now, one starting next year, and a 1 year old) and want to be within the East Lyme SD. I work remotely for a company in NYC (which I visit every three months or so, but I will be using the train from New Haven). We currently rent in Northern NJ and home prices are out of control.

Any feedback will be welcomed!

Coming back to this post, Zillow says that prices in East Lyme have increased by 1.4% over the past year, and are now projected to increase 1.7% over the next year. Old Lyme has increased 3.2% over the past year, and projected to increase 1.5% over the next year.

So, a bit different than what they projected 6 months ago.

Stonington has decreased 1.2% over the past year, but are projected to go up 0.3%. Groton is still in the tank, falling 5% in the past year with another 0.8% decrease predicted for the next 12 months, while New London decreased only 0.8% and a slight increase projected this year of 0.6%.

Norwich, however, seems to be inching up - a 1.9% increase over the past year, and projected another 1.5% increase over the next 12 months.