[New Englander]

Originally Posted by JayCT

To be honest with you, I was just up in Boston and the whole metro area is a traffic nightmare. That is somewhere I would never want to live. I know Fairfield County is bad but GE is in Fairfield so traffic in general is lighter there than the real problem areas of Stamford/Norwalk. My trip took me to the inner loop (I-95/128) and my God, north, south and west of the city was a complete nightmare. So an executive with family that does not want to live in an urban environment (and that would include most at the corporate level I would think), is going to be facing a nightmare of a commute. Not sure what GE was thinking when they decided to make this move. I know they want to be attractive to the younger generation but corporate staff is not usually that young and despite what people think the Millenials are following in their parents footsteps of living in cities when they are single but then moving to the suburbs when they establish families. That trend was delayed by the recession but it is beginning to occur again. Jay

I am from the Boston area and looking at buying a house with my parents in Fairfield CT. I agree with this assessment -- Boston metro has been growing at a rapid clip and the highways/traffic is getting really bad. I mean it's not as bad as NYC, however certainly worse than FFC.

On a related note, I wonder what the impact of the GE move will be on Farfield real estate?

[Lalalally]

Originally Posted by New Englander

I am from the Boston area and looking at buying a house with my parents in Fairfield CT. I agree with this assessment -- Boston metro has been growing at a rapid clip and the highways/traffic is getting really bad. I mean it's not as bad as NYC, however certainly worse than FFC.

On a related note, I wonder what the impact of the GE move will be on Farfield real estate?

There has been big debate on a local FB group I belong to. Specifically regarding zillow's assessment of my town specifically (some people in the group were trying to connect the dots between our superintendent's idiotic decision to hire a less than desirable special ed director and our tanking real estate values). After further digging into the zillow data that some were holding up as the holy grail, did it become abundantly clear that the most populated areas in CT are really hurting a lot on the whole (Fairfield and New Haven Counties). That's if you believe zillow, which I'm not completely sold on..). However, Fairfield County, New Haven County, Raleigh, NC, and some county in IL (NOT Cook) are rated as the "coldest" real estate markets in the COUNTRY. Depressing...

[New Englander]

Originally Posted by Lalalally

There has been big debate on a local FB group I belong to. Specifically regarding zillow's assessment of my town specifically (some people in the group were trying to connect the dots between our superintendent's idiotic decision to hire a less than desirable special ed director and our tanking real estate values). After further digging into the zillow data that some were holding up as the holy grail, did it become abundantly clear that the most populated areas in CT are really hurting a lot on the whole (Fairfield and New Haven Counties). That's if you believe zillow, which I'm not completely sold on..). However, Fairfield County, New Haven County, Raleigh, NC, and some county in IL (NOT Cook) are rated as the "coldest" real estate markets in the COUNTRY. Depressing...

Wow, that's remarkable. I have been reading up on a bunch for threads on the business/economic climate in CT and it does seem fairly pessimistic. I can't really confirm the validity, however I am sure that the real estate is effected when companies leave or economic growth is stalled.

I am not sure about zillow, trulia or similar websites. I prefer to dig into the tax/actual sale data and build out models (I'm a finance and real estate guy) to see whether prices/taxes are headed up or down.

I haven't done this for Farfield, CT yet as it takes a bit of time.

[Beeker2211]

Originally Posted by New Englander

On a related note, I wonder what the impact of the GE move will be on Farfield real estate?

As far as I can tell, minimal. The December pricing slump hit a little later this year than usual, so we should probably wait until spring. As described earlier only 200 staff are being actively relocating anytime soon, most are being shifted to Norwalk (likely long term), and there are already suitors for the site one of which is the other biggest land owner in Fairfield with a proven track record.

[New Englander]

Originally Posted by Beeker2211

As far as I can tell, minimal. The December pricing slump hit a little later this year than usual, so we should probably wait until spring. As described earlier only 200 staff are being actively relocating anytime soon, most are being shifted to Norwalk (likely long term), and there are already suitors for the site one of which is the other biggest land owner in Fairfield with a proven track record.

Great points. Fairfield does appear to be stable. I'm watching the RE and property taxes closely to see where they end up.

Returning to GE's move, I get the sense that taxes + overall economic trajectory (of Boston) was the cause of the move. Also, Boston/MA elected officials lobbied hard to entice GE.

[Sigequinox]

Originally Posted by New Englander

Great points. Fairfield does appear to be stable. I'm watching the RE and property taxes closely to see where they end up.

Returning to GE's move, I get the sense that taxes + overall economic trajectory (of Boston) was the cause of the move. Also, Boston/MA elected officials lobbied hard to entice GE.

Your equation is missing a few variables...

taxes + overall economic trajectory + gigantic local talent pool + highly innovative scientific environment + more business friendly + sex appeal + prestige + tech density/hub effect = GE move.

I love the old adage "you should always be running toward something, not away". It's a philosophy that has stuck with me and, like GE, I see many reasons to move forward with a life beyond CT. Cost (taxes), should never be the only issue. Those people usually end up unhappy at their new destination. When you are being attracted to a region, rather than repelled from where you are, you have greater chance of happiness and success (although both in combination is quite potent, as it is in my case). Anyway, FFC seems to be "calling you". That's definitely a good start. Continue to doing your homework--citydata forum is a great place to start.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by New Englander

Great points. Fairfield does appear to be stable. I'm watching the RE and property taxes closely to see where they end up.

Returning to GE's move, I get the sense that taxes + overall economic trajectory (of Boston) was the cause of the move. Also, Boston/MA elected officials lobbied hard to entice GE.

As I have pointed out here before, GE is hardly the only employer in Fairfield, town or county. The county has over 400,000 jobs and MANY are very high paying. The Town of Fairfield is highly attractive to people working in Stamford, Norwalk and New York because it is the first semi-affordable town along the coast and Metro-North's New Haven line that is completely safe and has well performing schools. Given it is only 200 jobs moving, it is unlikely to create more than a mild ripple. Over the years the county has lost other major corporate employers to mergers or consolidations and there has been little to no affect on the real estate market. The GE property is already being eyed by a major developer and it is not even on the market yet. Like other similar corporate buildings in the county (Stauffler and Glendining in Westport; American Can in Greenwich, Union Carbide in Danbury, etc.) the GE property will likely be converted to multi-tenanted space that could produce as many or even more jobs than GE. I would not worry about it or listen to the naysayers that are always posting here. Jay

[BPt111]

Originally Posted by JayCT

As I have pointed out here before, GE is hardly the only employer in Fairfield, town or county. The county has over 400,000 jobs and MANY are very high paying. The Town of Fairfield is highly attractive to people working in Stamford, Norwalk and New York because it is the first semi-affordable town along the coast and Metro-North's New Haven line that is completely safe and has well performing schools. Given it is only 200 jobs moving, it is unlikely to create more than a mild ripple. Over the years the county has lost other major corporate employers to mergers or consolidations and there has been little to no affect on the real estate market. The GE property is already being eyed by a major developer and it is not even on the market yet. Like other similar corporate buildings in the county (Stauffler and Glendining in Westport; American Can in Greenwich, Union Carbide in Danbury, etc.) the GE property will likely be converted to multi-tenanted space that could produce as many or even more jobs than GE. I would not worry about it or listen to the naysayers that are always posting here. Jay

Fairfield is also cutoff line for the gold coast after that things ger cheaper the real Connecticut. You can tell by eastern side of fairfield prices.

[BlackRocker]

What in the world is going on with Ffld schools? I heard some things about overcrowding and parents not being happy. I know people that moved to Ffld specifically for the schools and now they are looking at private schools.

[Mr_250]

Here's something interesting. Today GE announced it sold its assets management division to state street ( located in Boston) however state street also said that they will be keeping the Stamford office...great.

Problem is state street announced 3 days ago they are laying off 7,000 workers in the next 4 years. Anyone want to bet that this Stamford office will be on the cutting block? That or state street will keep the Stamford office and move people from Boston to lower cost Stamford to save money. Now that is what I see happening. Could be a game changer.