[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by pslresident444

Oh, pardon me, I just read pages 122 and 123 and became aware that the posts are apparently from high rollers who are discussing a lot of money, investing, profits, taxes, and etc.. in really nice locations. My ex-brother-in-law was the COO of a well-known company some years ago and lived in Ridgefield. It was nice. I remember visiting and seeing a nice farmer's market and a flower market there once. Everyone looked liked they were named "Buffy" and the like. Anyway, who could afford that even back then? Not many. And here is the kicker: he dropped dead of a heart attack around 50 worrying about making the investors money and keeping the Board happy.

Our questions are generally incompatible with the discussion. We are simply average retirees who simply desire to buy a home under $300K. We are fully aware that our social, political and economic systems are undergoing distressing transformations due to a great number of factors; and that government at all levels have demonstrated they are incapable of providing the protections, and mitigation necessary, let alone address the multitude of civilization's problems effectively.
We just want a decent place to buy for a reasonable price and live in until it is time to be shuttled over to nursing homes by our kids; say maybe 10 years. So much for liberal arts degrees earned in the 60's, right? We are merely the remnants of the first and the last flowering of a large middle class in history.

You may be better off posting a new thread to get more responses but you’re definitely on topic here.

We relocated from Ridgefield several years ago and just landed in Juno Beach (a small town between West Palm and Jupiter in Palm Beach County). I found the cost of living here to be quite a bit more expensive than Ridgefield, but taxes are overall much less. We also enjoy the lifestyle and don’t care much. You’re spot on about homeowners insurance. Groceries are sky high, gas is high and home prices in our area were expensive last year when we purchased, and are now insane, since most seem to be doing the opposite move you are.

Unfortunately, now is a terrible time to be looking at homes. My sister/brother in law are looking at homes in Juno Beach, seeking to relocate from Simsbury, and keep getting out bid even offering well over asking price. Most who are out bidding them are from NY/NJ/CA who are buying these homes in cash, sight unseen. It’s very frustrating for them but hang in there - you’ll find your place.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by pslresident444

Oh, pardon me, I just read pages 122 and 123 and became aware that the posts are apparently from high rollers who are discussing a lot of money, investing, profits, taxes, and etc.. in really nice locations. My ex-brother-in-law was the COO of a well-known company some years ago and lived in Ridgefield. It was nice. I remember visiting and seeing a nice farmer's market and a flower market there once. Everyone looked liked they were named "Buffy" and the like. Anyway, who could afford that even back then? Not many. And here is the kicker: he dropped dead of a heart attack around 50 worrying about making the investors money and keeping the Board happy.

Our questions are generally incompatible with the discussion. We are simply average retirees who simply desire to buy a home under $300K. We are fully aware that our social, political and economic systems are undergoing distressing transformations due to a great number of factors; and that government at all levels have demonstrated they are incapable of providing the protections, and mitigation necessary, let alone address the multitude of civilization's problems effectively.
We just want a decent place to buy for a reasonable price and live in until it is time to be shuttled over to nursing homes by our kids; say maybe 10 years. So much for liberal arts degrees earned in the 60's, right? We are merely the remnants of the first and the last flowering of a large middle class in history.

You probably should have started a new thread for this but since it’s here, I’ll respond. I have family in southeastern Connecticut. They’ve lived there for more than 30 years and like it a lot. They live in North Stonington and Griswold. They have never had a problem there and have no plans to move even though they are retired or close to it.

Norwich and New London are small cities and like most cities, have higher crime rates than more rural or suburban areas. My family rarely go to either of them often. As long as you don’t live in these you should not have a problem.

The problem of living near unkept properties is pretty limited here in Connecticut. Most towns have anti blight ordnances that help limit them. I can’t say I’ve seen much in North Stonington or Griswold where my family lives. That does not mean they don’t have them, it just means it’s not that prominent or common.

I’m wondering why you would want a raised ranch? A raised ranch has the living/kitchen and bedrooms on the second floor. You would have anywhere from a half flight to full flight of stairs to get to it. That is a major complaint of people I know that live in them. I also wonder why you would not consider a cape. Capes usually have a primary bedroom and bath on the first floor and secondary or extra bedrooms upstairs. That’s kind of ideal for the elderly. Jay

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

That’s not what my family friend noted. He said especially in the last month, his office has been trying to get creative to bridge that gap between buyers and sellers when homes don’t appraise. He also said it wasn’t specific to his office as many realtors are seeing this issue in his local area. His last sale (I believe it closed yesterday) the buyers in Guilford had to be gifted the 20k to cover the difference by other family members. The buyer wouldn’t budge. Not good.

Any realtors here seeing this more than usual?

I reached out to a friend who is a top agent in the Trumbull office of a major real estate office there. She said they have not had that problem at all there, nor does she know any of their offices that do. She said that lenders early on saw what was happening and are taking that into account when approving mortgages. As I said I have not seen many homes returning to market or many lengthy sales periods so it can’t be a big problem. Jay

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by JayCT

I reached out to a friend who is a top agent in the Trumbull office of a major real estate office there. She said they have not had that problem at all there, nor does she know any of their offices that do. She said that lenders early on saw what was happening and are taking that into account when approving mortgages. As I said I have not seen many homes returning to market or many lengthy sales periods so it can’t be a big problem. Jay

As noted many times in this thread, and in the numbers showing property transfer price increases, Fairfield County is a bit different than eastern New Haven and Middlesex. I don’t know why this realtor would say that if it’s untrue.

[Massimiliano]

Originally Posted by hvexpatinct

Agree about the refinance. Didn’t need one for ours either.

Why didn't your refinance require an appraisal?

[Stylo]

Some of the houses I’ve seen sell near me are shockingly underwhelming for 400k+.

In need of lots of work, under 2,000 square feet, no curb appeal. These would be low 300’s tops a few years ago.

Hope it holds. And even if it doesn’t, hopefully the owners invest to make these houses nice.

I did notice quite a lot of new listings lately.

[BPt111]

I wonder what the market is in 2022 will it be high rate of foreclosures ?

[Cambium]

Originally Posted by Stylo

Some of the houses I’ve seen sell near me are shockingly underwhelming for 400k+.

In need of lots of work, under 2,000 square feet, no curb appeal. These would be low 300’s tops a few years ago.

Hope it holds. And even if it doesn’t, hopefully the owners invest to make these houses nice.

I did notice quite a lot of new listings lately.

It's FOMO and the beginning. People don't want to miss out on the opportunity to sell so more are starting to list.


By Winter we'll have more inventory less demand and the leveling off will begin next year.. IMO.

[hvexpatinct]

Originally Posted by Massimiliano

Why didn't your refinance require an appraisal?

Mathematically there was no way the amount of the loan was more than 80% of the current market value of the house, based on almost a year worth of comps, so appraisal was waived.

[hvexpatinct]

I think this is showing how localized market conditions can be - definitely can’t make blanket assumptions on the state

As companies make their return to office plans, I speculate that demand is going to shift to smaller homes in general too - I think there are still enough people out there who want into the market but maybe don’t want to go all in on large full time residences given the uncertainty of worksite flexibility