Greater Hartford Real Estate Blog

Gosh, it took me a really long time to find a positive article about the economy. Finally, I unearthed one in the Wall Street Journal. It’s a few days old and the Fed has since dropped the federal funds rate another 50 basis points, but maybe it will make you feel the tiniest bit releaved to hear something positive for once.

When it comes to the economy, I am a firm believer that perception is reality. Beat someone over the head with a thought for long enough and they will start to believe it, positive or negative. What about positive affirmations? Remember Stuart Smalley? Why doesn’t the media try that stance for a few days? What could it hurt?

Only you can determine your comfort level with the economy and your financial situation. Is your job stable? Are you earning the same, more, or less, than you did last year? Are you still able to save? Do you really feel strapped, or is the media making you think about things too much? Take a deep breath, step back, and look at your situation. The sky might not be falling.

Now, I’m off to stimulate the economy with a latte purchase…

The West End of Hartford will be hosting its 4th annual progressive dinner, the DineAround, this evening. The 180+ participants will begin the night by gathering at a home on Prospect Avenue for appetizers and drinks. From there, guests will proceed to one of 23 host homes where they will enjoy a lovely meal with 8-10 neighbors that they may or may not know. The evening is capped off by dessert at a home on Scarborough Street. Proceeds from the dinner support the neighborhood’s West End Civic Association.

So how did Hartford’s West End real estate market fair last year in comparison to 2006? See for yourself…

The yearly number of home sales in the West End is somewhat small, but there are still enough to make it interesting to look at in the aggregate. Prices remained fairly stable when looking at both the median and average prices for the neighborhood. Additionally, homes sold about 2 weeks faster in 2007 than they did in 2006.

Today the West End market appears to be stagnating though. Currently there are 18 homes on the market in the West End and the average days on market for those homes is 114 days. That’s a 72% increase in the average time on market when compared to 2007. At this point it’s not clear if the increase is due to the seasonality of the market or a true slow down in interest in West End homes. We’ll keep an eye on this as we move through 2008.

I’m starting a new weekly genre- Fabulous Friday Finds. Because this is my blog and I can do what I want, it may or may not be related to real estate.

My first Fabulous Friday Find is Yelp.com. Oh, what a fun little website. Somewhat social networking, but more a user review site with the “I’ve got an opinion on this place/service…” slant. Read reviews from quirky people like you and figure out if you should really go to that new little restaurant you’ve been eyeing for a few weeks.

Create an account and pimp out your profile, then start reading and reviewing away…It benefits all of us if you Yelp about that fabulous little diner you’ve found for weekend breakfast…