Archive for the 'Condos' Category
Weekend Plans: Mar 12th 2011
Daylight savings starts on Sunday … or maybe it ends on Sunday. I can never remember if we save daylight in the summer or winter. Whatever it’s called, the clocks spring forward on Sunday morning at 2am, costing us an hour of sleep. Looking at the bright side of the issue (ha!), it will be light even later in the evenings this coming week, allowing home buyers to actually see the houses they tour after work.
Events & Activities
Knox Parks Foundation is throwing a Tropical Party in their Laurel Street greenhouse this Friday, March 11th, from 6:00pm to 10:00pm. Word on the street is that they’re bringing in some parrots from the Beardsley Zoo. Go check out the birds, music, and general good times in this benefit event – tickets are $20.
The annual Hartford St. Patrick’s Day Parade will be held Downtown this Saturday, March 12th. The event kicks off at 11:00am from the Capital Avenue side of the State Capitol building. From there it loops past the Old State House before finishing near the Memorial Arch. Free parking is available at the Morgan Street garage for the day, and they’re also throwing in a $20 20% off dining voucher to encourage folks to come back for a meal on the 17th.
Finally, college basketball conference tournaments continue throughout the week, leading up to the NCAA Tournament Selection show/event/spectacle on Sunday evening. It’s the height of the bubble season! Are you on the bubble? ESPN considers the UConn men to be “locks” for the Big Dance, and one of a staggering 10 Big East teams they believe have tournament invitations wrapped up. Sadly, my Demon Deacons are not even on the bubble this year after turning in a 1-15 conference record in the weak ACC (only 2 ranked teams?!?).
Open Houses
10 Walbridge Road, West Hartford, $559,000, Sun 1:00 to 3:00
Located on one of West Hartford’s most desirable streets, this grand home has all the wonderful architectural details of the early 20th century. The living room (photo above) is amazingly comfortable with a brick fireplace, a built-in bookcase, and french doors out to the 3 season room with southern exposure. I took a quick break there during yesterday’s open house for agents and almost didn’t leave. It’s just a really great space. Interesting without being too ornate or fussy. Spacious, yet still intimate. And that’s just the living room! There are plenty of other great rooms in the home to discover. It has 6 bedrooms and 3.5 baths over 3,171 sqft. More details and a photo tour are available.
791 Prospect Ave #B3, West Hartford, $305,000, Sun 1:00 to 3:00
For a maintenance-free living experience, this large condo is packed with amenities. The main living space is large and bright, and takes advantage of its position on the corner of the building. The master suite has a huge bedroom, separate office/study, multiple walk-in closets, and of course a full bath. There are great details like a marble floored entry, hardwood floors through the kitchen and main living area, laundry in the unit, elevator access, and parking in the heated garage under the building. Like to swim, or maybe just read in the sun? Check out the pool or your private balcony. And if that’s not enough, step through the private gate into world-renowned Elizabeth Park. The unit has 2 bedrooms and 2 baths over 1,826 sqft. More details and a photo tour are available.
What Else?
Send Kyle (KyleB@KyleB-RE.com) a quick note if you know of other events we should include … thanks!
Weekend Plans: Feb 26th 2011
We’re already at the end of February … wow, it really flew right by this year. The next thing you know we’ll be complaining about how the lawn is dying because it’s so hot. Here’s my February 22nd resolution (everyone makes these, right?): Every time I start to grouse about the heat this summer, I’m going to make an ice cold lemonade, go sit on the porch for 5 minutes, and think about how glad I am that the snow is not piled up to the railing.
Events & Activities
Flower Show, CT Convention Center, Thu 2/24 through Sun 2/27
Think spring with the 30th annual Connecticut Flower Show at the Convention Center this weekend. In addition to the usual displays and exhibits, there are also lots of seminars available at the show. We also see that the UCONN Co-op is offering free soil testing at their booth, if you can manager to get a half cup of dirt out of the ground…
Concora & Hartford Symphony Perform Bach, Sun 2/27 at 4:00
One of our clients will be participating in a week-long choral event that culminates with Concora’s collaboration with the Hartford Symphony. The concert will be held at the Immanuel Congregational Church in Hartford, check out the Concora website for more information. Have fun, Marion!
Academy Awards, Sun 2/27 at 8:30
Awards season for the beautiful people wraps up on Sunday evening with the Oscars. As usual, they’ll have a little something for everyone. The red carpet with all the dramatic fashions and even more dramatic fashion critics. The biggest stars and their entourages filling the Kodak Theatre. And bringing it all together on stage will be co-hosts James Franco and Anne Hathaway.
Open Houses
38 Goodwin Circle, Hartford, $489,900, Sun 2/27 from 1:00 to 3:00
Start your Sunday afternoon by touring a fantastic condo in the Elizabeth Park area. This large townhouse-style home was built in 2005 and still has that new construction feel. The main level has a large open living area that encompasses the living room, dining room, eat-in kitchen, and even extends out to a deck overlooking woodlands. A large family room awaits downstairs in the fully-finished walk-out lower level. Upstairs, the master suite features a bedroom with sitting area, walk-in closet, private loft, and oversized ensuite bath with whirlpool tub. 3 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, 3,164 sqft, central air, attached 2 car garage. More details and a photo tour are available.
What Else?
Send Kyle (KyleB@KyleB-RE.com) a quick note if you know of other events we should include … thanks!
Slower January for Condos
The number of condominiums that went under contract in Hartford County this January trailed 2010′s total by just over 20%. The drop in activity continues the post tax credit trend from last year. Since this month’s deal count was actually in line with the January 2009 numbers, it appears that the market is simply returning to a more realistic activity level after being goosed by last year’s tax credit.
Buyers and sellers successfully negotiated contracts on 103 Hartford County condominiums in January. The table shows the results by town, and sorts it based on the number of deals. There are some surprising results in the data, both in terms of the number of sales and the change from last year.
Some towns have more condos than others – it’s just the way the housing stock was built in those areas. What’s interesting about the January result is that some of the towns with the most condos had relatively few deals. South Windsor has numerous condo complexes and is routinely at the top of the list in terms of the number of deals. This month they only had 4, which was well off last year’s count of 12. Rocky Hill is another town with an active condo market that got off to a slow start.
The other important stat is inventory. We ran the calculation using the current number of listings and the total number of contracts over the past 12 months. This is how we always do it so that we can minimize the impact of seasonality. Since we believe that the number of deals last year is artificially high (because of the tax credit), then that’s going to make the inventory look lower than it really is. Inventory is also often at a seasonal low in January. The spring market hasn’t quite kicked in, and sellers have not yet listed their properties.
With those two points in mind, the current inventory is concerning. The County is going into the spring with more than 8 months of inventory, which is already well into “Buyer’s Market” territory (more than 6 months). We’ll keep a close eye on this in the coming months and expect a large jump in the calculation in May once the tax credit deals are more than 12 months in the past.
2010 Condo Market Stats
Today we’re going to look at the Hartford County condo market for 2010. Like we’ve been doing with the single-family market, we’re going to focus on the contracts written so that we have a sense of when buyers and sellers are most active. The chart below shows the number of contracts written by month for each of the past two years, which will give a good baseline for what we will see in the coming year.
2010 got off to a quick start, with buyers out shopping early. The number of contracts written trended ahead of 2009 for the first four months, spiking in April as the Federal Home Buyer Tax Credit expired. After that, the activity level was rather low and did not exhibit the traditional market seasonality. The number of total contracts was down about 10% for the year.
Looking at stats for the individual towns, we can see that it was a mixed bag.
Nearly all towns in the County have at least some condos, though certain towns have a much larger supply than others. This chart doesn’t show it, but the price points often vary between towns. Buyers looking at higher price points will have different towns available to them than buyers looking a lower price points, and vice versa. There are also still some new construction projects available, if that is a priority.
Although most of the towns showed a decrease in the number of contracts written for the year, the change in contract number varied widely. Five towns actually saw an increase during 2010. West Hartford jumped all the way from the eighth largest condo market in 2009 to number one in 2010 as all of the towns ahead of it experienced a slowdown in their markets.
Over the past two years it has consistently taken about 90 days to sell a condominium in Hartford County. Sellers need to be aware that the sales process could take a few months so that an extended time on market can be factored into their planning. Keep in mind that the days on market stat counts the time from when a property is listed until it goes under contract, so the seller will still own the home for another 45 to 60 days as the buyer goes through their inspections and secures their mortgage.
Condominiums are an important part of the Greater Hartford real estate market. There are not nearly as many available as single family homes, and they are distributed differently throughout the County. We’ll do regular posts tracking the condo market and see how it evolves during 2011.
Weekend Plans: Jan 29th 2011
My weekend plan is to shovel snow. Even if it isn’t actively precipitating, there’s still snow to move. This week it was slushy stuff the plow deposited at the bottom of the driveway when they came through the neighborhood on a second pass a few days after the most recent storm. And I guess I should have done a better job tunneling through the giant snow banks at the intersection since a good samaritan took it upon himself to cut a path out into the road. Don’t know who it was, but if you’re reading … thanks!
Events & Activities
CMTA Hartford Boat Show, CT Convention Center, Fri 1/28 to Sun 1/30
I’m sensing a bit of a theme in the January events at the Connecticut Convention Center … big toys! Last week they had the RVs, and this week it’s boats. If only it was followed by cars and electronics in the coming weeks (it’s not). Being a land-lover, the boat show isn’t high on my priority list, but I know lots of people who love both sailing and fishing. Might be worth checking out. Get $2 off the $12 adult admission (kids 12 and under are free) using the coupon on the event website.
Canton Barn Saturday Auction, Sat 1/29 at 7:30, Free
This week is as good as any to mention the Canton Barn’s weekly Saturday night auction. We would highly recommend checking this place out if you are in the process of furnishing or decorating a house. We’ve attended on a number of occasions, bought a bunch of stuff, and have been impressed with how reasonable prices can be for larger items. For example, we still regret buying our dining room set new when we could have found a table and chairs with more character for a fraction of the price at the Canton Barn. Doors open at 5:00 so you can inspect the items up for bid, and the actual auction starts at 7:30. They cook burgers and ‘dogs on the grill out back and have an impressive assortment of pies. Arrive a little early, put a cushion on your chair, check out the merchandise, grab some pie, and enjoy the event. The Canton Barn is smoke-free, alcohol-free, and cellphone-free. Once the auction begins it is also adult-only. There is no buyer’s premium or reserve bid, they accept cash and checks only – no credit cards – so plan accordingly.
Open Houses
For those who are looking for a new home but aren’t all that keen on this January’s shovel-palooza, we have the perfect solution … condos! This week we have two fantastic condos open for your inspection, both very centrally located in Greater Hartford and in the vicinity of Elizabeth Park.
791 Prospect Ave #B3, West Hartford, $305,000, 1/30/2011 from 1:00 to 3:00
The Grosvenor House complex in West Hartford is adjacent to the Elizabeth Park Rose Garden. Unit B3 is a modern, bright, and spacious ranch style condo with all the amenities. A spacious entry opens to the large combined living and dining rooms that serve as the heart of the home. The updated eat-in kitchen is fully applianced, and has plenty of storage. A secluded master bedroom suite features a large bedroom, private office, multiple walk-in closets and a full bath. A second bedroom and second full bath complete the home. The condo also has garage parking, elevator access, a private balcony, in-unit laundry, central air, storage unit, and totals 1,826 square feet. More details and a photo tour are available.
38 Goodwin Circle, Hartford, $489,900, 1/30/2011 from 1:00 to 3:00
The Goodwin Estate is a relatively new complex in Hartford’s West End. Built in the mid 2000s, the complex has the new construction look and amenities. Unit 38 is an end unit that backs to the woods. It is a townhouse style, with large open living room and dining room and fully appointed kitchen with maple cabinetry, granite counters, and stainless appliances. The walkout lower level is fully finished as a large family room with full bath. Upstairs is a master suite featuring private loft, walk-in closet, and large bath with Jacuzzi tub. Two additional baths and a full bath complete the upper level. The condo also has an attached 2 car garage, private deck, in-unit laundry, central air, and totals 3,164 square feet. More details and a photo tour are available.
What Else?
Send Kyle (KyleB@KyleB-RE.com) a quick note if you know of other events we should include … thanks!