Archive for the 'Buying' Category

19 Greenhurst Road, West Hartford

This move-in condition Colonial is in a great West Hartford Center location, a quick walk from all of the shops and restaurants in the Center and Blue Back Square.

The formal living room is a nice size and has a wood burning fireplace. The dining room features a classic built-in cabinet and connects to the remodeled kitchen with eat-in space. There is a half bathroom on the first floor and the basement is partially finished.

Upstairs you’ll find a large master bedroom with walk-up attic access, two additional bedrooms and a neat and clean full bathroom.

Outside there is a large deck and the yard offers plenty of space for play, relaxing or gardening. Park your car in the 1-car garage.

The home features new windows, driveway and exterior paint.

19 Greenhurst Road is offered at $289,900. If you’d like to see this home, please have your agent arrange a showing, stop by our open house Sunday 5/19 from 1:00pm-3:00pm or call me at 860-655-2125 to schedule a visit. More details and a photo tour are available.

I Don’t Hate It

“I don’t hate it.”

I’ve been getting this line a lot recently from the male spouse in couples that are working with me to look for a home.

That’s not necessarily a rousing endorsement of a place. And I’ve been getting it from several different guys, not just one. Do you think a homeowner would like to get the feedback “The husband didn’t hate your house.” Probably not.

At times we do joke that it is the wife’s opinion of a place that matters most and the husband’s opinion is secondary. But really, I think I’d strive for a little more satisfaction than “I don’t hate it.” Also, I haven’t brought a buyer for any of the “I don’t hate it” houses I’ve showed, so I guess that means the husband’s opinion carries some weight.

West Hartford Stats: An Exciting Market

West Hartford has been one of the hottest real estate markets so far this year. Here are a few charts to show where it is as of the middle of the spring season. Data is for single-family homes and comes from the CTMLS, which deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

The number of closed sales has at least equaled the 2012 total in every month. Overall, 19% more deals have closed this year compared to the first four months of 2012.

The number of closings over the past 12 months has increased in nearly every price band. The jump in the $400,000s has been especially impressive.

Demand for homes, as reflected in the properties currently under contract and waiting to close, is well distributed by price band.

Supply of homes is limited, averaging about 3.5 months of inventory. At price points below $500,000 the market has even less available for buyers.

What these charts don’t show is that prices are increasing in West Hartford. Because every property is different, and the mix of homes that sell in a given period of time is constantly changing, there is no easy metric that captures pricing accurately. But any (active) real estate agent can tell you that bidding wars are back, and that buyers need to have their act together in order to have a shot at getting an updated home in the middle and lower price bands.

63 Van Buren Avenue, West Hartford

This charming English-style Colonial has a great West Hartford Center location and is in the Duffy/Sedgwick/Conard school district. The home offers a flexible floor plan with formal entertaining spaces, as well as casual family room areas for today’s living style.

The double door entry vestibule opens to the formal living room which has a wood burning fireplace and French doors leading to a side porch. A formal dining room with a built-in hutch connects to the kitchen and first floor family room. The remodeled kitchen features eat-in space, granite counters, access to a wraparound deck, as well as the original butler’s pantry. The oversized family room with a wood burning fireplace is great space to relax. A powder room completes the first floor.

Upstairs the second floor has four bedrooms and three full bathrooms. Two of the bedrooms have en-suite bathrooms. The third floor is a nicely finished room with plenty of storage space and could be used as an additional bedroom, office or media room.

Outside, the grounds are well landscaped. The open porch and a wraparound deck are perfect for outdoor entertaining.

The home has a newer roof, windows, driveway, updated electrical and an attached 2-car garage.

63 Van Buren Avenue is listed at $539,900. If you’d like to see this home, please have your agent arrange a showing or call me at 860-655-2125 to schedule a visit. More details and a photo tour are available.

April Contracts: Better Than Last Year

The Hartford County single-family housing market continued its strong spring. Overall, buyers and sellers agreed to 845 deals during the month, which is nearly 15% higher than April of 2012. The year-to-date number of contracts is more than 5% ahead of where it was at this point last year.

Strong April performance helps support our view that the February result was an aberration. Both March and April finished with higher contract totals than any individual month since April 2010. Long time market observers will recall that the final Federal Home Buyer Tax Credit expired on April 30, 2010, so there was a huge push to get homes under contract that month, followed by the market flat-lining for the rest of the year.

The town by town table shows that inventory levels increased despite all the homes that went under contract. This time of year is the peak activity level, with both new listings appearing and deals coming together at a rapid pace. There continue to be towns with relatively few houses available for buyers, and very quick sales with bidding wars are common. On the other hand, there are also towns with lots of vacant properties and opportunities for buyers to get aggressive. Here are the stats for the individual towns.

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