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So my husband and I have been planning on buying a home for a while now. The plan was that we would move right outside the city and rent a place (we lived in NYC) but close enough as he has to commute to work a couple of days a week once the office requires everyone to go back and that way we can try out living in the suburbs. We moved a the beginning of this year to an apt and are now planning on buying or starting our search at the end of this year.
After much consideration and taking into account good schools and commute we have decided that our first choice is Westport, Ct, and 2nd will be Fairfield. Our rationale is that both places have excellent public schools, commute is not too bad as he will only be in the office a couple of times a week, taxes are not as bad and we get a little more for our money as opposed to Darien and Greenwhich. We have what I thought was a healthy budget, Initially we thought that 1.1m would be good to start, but decided to bump it to 1.5m, We want a decent size home at least 3500 sqft with moving ready home. We really do not want to get into a bidding war and it seems that is what is happening everywhere.
Here is the thing, I am scare of getting price out of the area, as prices have increase so much in the last year and we are in dire need of more space. We have a 6 months old and are adopting 2 preteens that we are fostering right now. We could move to Stamford which is closer to NYC and a nice town with more affordable houses, but schools are not the best for what i've read, so we would have to do private schools for the 3 kids which is not what we want.
Should we wait it out? Buy in the less expensive area regardless of schools, or just buy something smaller than originally wanted and get in the area we want, or do you think we are able to afford what we want in the area.
PS: we are going to start looking at the end of the year.
I am planning to buy a house in CT but I am waiting. My situation allows that, yours of course may not.
I think you have a good sized budget and could probably find something acceptable now, just maybe not quite as big as you originally hoped.
You could add Wilton and Weston to your list, especially since you are OK with a Fairfield commute to the City. Both are more rural than Westport and Fairfield, Weston even more so than Wilton, but both have excellent schools and the commute door to door will be about the same as Fairfield if not a bit shorter.
You should buy what you want, especially since you seem to have good idea of what that is. If you settle, you are going to have buyer's remorse and likely end up buying what you want later, which will end up being more expensive.
So my husband and I have been planning on buying a home for a while now. The plan was that we would move right outside the city and rent a place (we lived in NYC) but close enough as he has to commute to work a couple of days a week once the office requires everyone to go back and that way we can try out living in the suburbs. We moved a the beginning of this year to an apt and are now planning on buying or starting our search at the end of this year.
After much consideration and taking into account good schools and commute we have decided that our first choice is Westport, Ct, and 2nd will be Fairfield. Our rationale is that both places have excellent public schools, commute is not too bad as he will only be in the office a couple of times a week, taxes are not as bad and we get a little more for our money as opposed to Darien and Greenwhich. We have what I thought was a healthy budget, Initially we thought that 1.1m would be good to start, but decided to bump it to 1.5m, We want a decent size home at least 3500 sqft with moving ready home. We really do not want to get into a bidding war and it seems that is what is happening everywhere.
Here is the thing, I am scare of getting price out of the area, as prices have increase so much in the last year and we are in dire need of more space. We have a 6 months old and are adopting 2 preteens that we are fostering right now. We could move to Stamford which is closer to NYC and a nice town with more affordable houses, but schools are not the best for what i've read, so we would have to do private schools for the 3 kids which is not what we want.
Should we wait it out? Buy in the less expensive area regardless of schools, or just buy something smaller than originally wanted and get in the area we want, or do you think we are able to afford what we want in the area.
PS: we are going to start looking at the end of the year.
Here is a site that shows the current market rates. For a 3500 sf house you will probably have to look in Fairfield but it's a great town. The schools are not good in Stamford. https://www.williampitt.com/communit.../market-report
Median/Average Price
Westport.........$1.8 M/$1.7 M
Fairfield...........$703,000/$878,000
Darien.............$1.4 M/$1.7 M
Greenwich.......$2.2 M/$2.8 M (wowie!)
Not on your list but just as nice with great schools too.
New Canaan....$1.7M/$1.8 M (New Canaan is a really nice town too north of Darien and it has two train stations)
Wilton.............$890,000/$1.1 M (a town north of Norwalk and borders New Canaan, two train stations)
Weston...........$941,000/$1.1 M (a town north of Westport, no train station)
I read a few stories that said CT home prices will remain high this year. I have a hunch by the end of the year when the Covid situation gets better home prices will level off.
First and foremost, hats off on the adoption and foster care. Excellent job. That's to be commended.
If it's a decade+ stay or the forever deathbed home, then buy, in any market. I wouldn't hesitate on CT. I'ts awesome! Stalk me here, click on my name and hit "read all posts by". I go on and on about how great it is around here. I could go on all day too, everyday. Like I always say. It's THAT great! Food, culture, live music, people, NYC, beaches. THings are opening up by the day. They're bringing back Shakespeare on the Sound in Norwalk this year with A Midsummers Night Dream, on a midsummer night?? are you kidding, what's better than that.
I don't ahave any allegiances on towns, pick anywhere, they're all great. Give Greenwich and Darien another look, you never know what might pop up. You could save some money and go Stamford and Norwalk forests. Put the savings towards private and parochials or just go with the regulars. They have montessories, magnets, charters, AP and honors, international business, arts, music, technology programs, so many options now for schools, it's not like the old days. That's personal family decisions.
Westport, I mean seriously what else can you say. The wonderful Levitt Pavilion, the Inn at Longshore, the center and restaurants, come on now.
Fan favorite Fairfield is great too but for me was too far out for a larger budget. Why not be closer to NY if you can swing it. All up to the individual though.
Some Stamford grammar schools are not bad. But high schools aren't great.
Fairfield is a good amount cheaper than Westport, a little more diverse, and a bit more laid back. It depends on your budget and home expectations.
Wilton is a good mix of proximity to NYC and value. It lacks some of the amenities and variety of Fairfield (beach, bustling downtown, bit more diversity), but you tend to get a bit more for your money IMO.
No one knows what the real estate market will be in the future. We do know that the current market is crazy with prices being pushed higher and higher along Connecticut’s Gold Coast. All you can do is take a deep breath, close your eyes and take the giant first step. It won’t be easy but can be very rewarding.
Both Westport and Fairfield are great towns to raise a family but it’s unlikely that you will find as large a home as you want in Westport in your price range. There should be larger homes like you want in your price range in Fairfield but the better ones tend to go fast. You will need to get yourself a good agent to get in to see the homes as soon as they come on the market.
As others suggested, you might consider adding Wilton and Weston to your list. I’d also suggest you add Easton to it too. These are great second tier towns that have excellent schools, great parks and lots of great family oriented amenities and activities. Good luck. Jay
Thank you everyone for your thoughts. For those suggesting Wilton/Weston or Easton, we have thought about those as options, but we really do not wanna be in a rural setting and we would like to have amenities near by. We also do not want to have a ton of land to take care of, and of course we would rather not have a longer commute than necessary. After Talking to my husband more, we have decided to up our budget to 1.8m hoping that this would allow us to find something we want. I didn't really want to go that high as is going to be our first home, but we are planning to raise our kids there so I think is worth it.
You could save some money and go Stamford and Norwalk forests. Put the savings towards private and parochials or just go with the regulars. They have montessories, magnets, charters, AP and honors, international business, arts, music, technology programs, so many options now for schools, it's not like the old days. That's personal family decisions.
As I used to work in both the Stamford and Norwalk schools systems (but haven't worked in Stamford since 2018), Stamford has charter schools (I hope you're not thinking of Trailblazers Academy, which is by design a school for "troubled kids" but it is a good school for that)? The only charter I know of in Norwalk is Side by Side school (I think they are also K-8) which is not in the best part of town.
Except for Rogers in Stamford (which is a K-8) and AITE High School in Stamford I didn't find the magnets in Stamford or Norwalk to be too good. I didn't realize either city had Montesorri schools either.
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