Archive for January, 2008
West Hartford Residential Year in Review
Everyone and their uncle seems to be offering their thoughts and predictions for the national housing market in 2008. Let’s take a look and see how West Hartford did when comparing 2006 to 2007. Because, as we all know, housing is local. This is not Phoenix or Vegas or Miami.
All data was pulled from the Multiple Listing Service (insert the standard “deemed reliable but not guaranteed” disclaimer here…) and represents single family homes sales only. No condos or multi-family properties were included in my analysis. Also, private sales were not included in my analysis.
The number of sales were down for the year in West Hartford, but pricing remained strong, up by 4% on average.
As of today, there is 3 months of housing inventory on the market in West Hartford. That means the housing market in West Hartford is in a neutral position. Zero to 3 months of inventory indicates a seller’s market, 3 to 6 months of inventory indicates a neutral market, and 6+ months of inventory indicates a buyer’s market.
Moving into the spring real estate market in West Hartford, buyers will have a tough time getting the deals they are expecting if the inventory levels remain healthy. I’ll continue to provide statistics as we move through the year.
Farmington Valley stats will be posted tomorrow. Maybe there are more deals available there…
The Books are Back!
This Sunday, January 6, the central branch of the West Hartford Public Library will re-open after a year(plus)-long renovation.
Stop by the Main Street location between 1PM and 4PM to check out the new digs. The ribbon cutting will be at 2PM, if you care for pomp and circumstance. The kiddos can engage with balloon artists and magicians and the dueling Conard and Hall high school jazz bands.
They’ve added 17,000 square feet of space which, according to library officials and the Courant, “includes a redesigned main floor exclusively for public use, enlarged circulation and browsing areas, a climate-controlled local history room, a computer lab, a new room specifically for teens, and a gallery for art and cultural exhibits.”
I’m just happy that the books and videos will be back. Many thanks to the helpful staff at the Bishops Corner and Elmwood branches for dealing with the overflow for the past 15 months! Happy reading!
Smart Buy on Prospect Avenue
One of my favorite houses on Prospect Avenue in West Hartford recently sold.
I typically walk by it on a daily basis while walking my dog. Well, in July, it went up for sale. It was bank owned and being sold As Is, originally listed at $769,900, which was about $100 a square foot. Not bad considering that houses on Prospect Avenue typically sell for $150-$225 a square foot.
I went to take a look and my general observation was that someone had started fairly extensive renovations and appeared to run out of money. Hence, bank owned. The kitchen had been completely updated, baths were gutted and updates stopped mid-stream, walls were freshly painted throughout. There were beautiful architectural details and hardwood floors, but fireplace mantles and stained glass windows had been pulled out and were strewn about the house. In the basement, it appeared that fire damage had occured at some point. There was a sizeable carriage house with a lower level office and upper level apartment, both in disrepair. Going through my mental checklist, I estimated that the house and carriage barn needed about $200,000 in work to get it up to Prospect Avenue snuff. Adding that to the list price of $769,900 was too much for an investor because they would never be able to recoup the investment, given that it’s on the first block of Prospect north of Farmington Avenue.
But I continued to watch the drama unfold over the next few months. The listing expired in September and was re-listed again in October at $719,900. Still too much. It expired again in November and was relisted at $699,900. It went under contract at the end of November. It closed on December 31, 2007 for $450,000. That’s right, it was last listed at $699,900 and closed for $450,000.
Holy schniekies. Happy New Year to the buyer! There are a few lessons to be learned from this…
1. With a bank owned property, find out how much the bank is owed, don’t assume it’s the asking price. They really only need to cover what they are owed and their fees to close the deal (real estate commission, attorney fees, etc.).
2. You’ve got to have cash and a squeeky clean contract (basically no contingencies) to pull off these deals.
3. The neighbors of this house are going to be peeved because it will drop the property value for that block. I mean, come on, $59 a square foot? Crazy!
4. The neighbors of this house will be happy when the buyer (most likely) finishes the renovations and flips this sucker in a few months. My guess, just in time for the spring/summer market. It could probably go for $850,000+ once everything is fixed and in tip-top shape.
So, if you’ve got some cash and the stomach for investing, here’s an example of how it can really pay off. Best of luck to the new buyer. I hope whatever their strategy is works out for them, flip or hold. I’ll provide updates as I see this unfold over the spring…