When we work with buyers sometimes they are familiar with house styles and sometimes they are not. For example, we often find that buyers don’t realize that capes usually have a bedroom on the first floor. They may be surprised when visiting their first 3-bedroom cape that only 2 of the bedrooms are upstairs. The third bedroom is tucked away in a corner on the first floor. For some folks that works, for others it doesn’t.

These layout differences are what drive people to gravitate towards a favorite house style. Or they may be showing a preference simply based on their fondness for the type of home they grew up in. Whatever the case, people usually pick a certain house style or two and focus their search on those choices.

We thought it would be interesting to look at home sales in Hartford County and see how they break down by house style. Is there a dominant style that rules the market? (We’re guessing that would be colonials being good ole New England and all) Do some towns have more capes than others? Where can you find the contemporaries? Here’s a look at the data of single family homes that have sold so far this year in Hartford County, broken down by style and town. As always, data comes from the CT Multiple Listing Service and is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed…

Surprise, surprise- colonials come in as the most common type of home sold this year (and probably every other year) with 39.5% of the market. Ranches and capes are the next most common home styles.

But what if one wants a less common house style, say a contemporary or bungalow? Where should you focus your search? Well, based on the data provided, Simsbury or Glastonbury would probably be your best bets to find a contemporary and West Hartford and New Britain could score you a bungalow.

We find that most people focus their search on one specific town or a couple of towns. Location seems to trump house type. So, if I want to live in a tudor I’m either going to need to be really flexible on town or aggressively stalk the tudors in my town of choice. A word of advice, if you’re stalking a house try not to alarm the owner or its neighbors…

Do you have a preferred house style? What makes it your favorite?

2010: none

2011: East Hartford, Enfield, Hartford, Manchester, Marlborough, Newington, Plainville, Southington, West Hartford

2012: Berlin, Bristol, East Windsor, Farmington, Glastonbury, Granby, New Britain, Simsbury, South Windsor

2013: Avon, Burlington, Canton, East Granby, Rocky Hill, Suffield, Wethersfield, Windsor, Windsor Locks

2014: Bloomfield

The process is basically the same everywhere. Towns review all the properties to make sure they have the correct stats – beds, baths, size, etc. Next they gather information on sales and feed all the data into the computer. A value is assigned to each property and the owners are notified – generally in the fall of the revaluation year.

West Hartford has an FAQ document on the part of their website related to the 2011 revaluation. Here is their answer to one important question that homeowners often have.

What will happen to my assessment if I improve my property?

While property improvements generally increase the value to your property, they may or may not change the assessment to your property. For example, while replacing a roof covering, a furnace, a water heater or updating your electrical main should have a positive effect on your market value they are not likely to increase your assessment. Landscaping your property should increase its curb appeal and could also increase its value, but would not increase your assessment. There are also improvements that would increase your market value and correspondingly your assessment. Some of these changes include adding central air conditioning, finishing off a basement, building an addition, and possibly remodeling a kitchen or bath(s).

Even after property owners receive their initial letter, they have an opportunity to challenge the new valuation. It usually begins with an informal hearing, which is basically just a meeting in which the owner can present their case. We always advise bringing data to support your argument. If the informal hearing doesn’t produce the desired outcome, then there is a more formal appeals process. This can vary by town, so be sure to check with your assessor to find out the exact process.

There is lots of interesting data – here are some observations after poking around the various reports:

- Most projects allow homeowners to recoup between 60% and 80% of their cost. Basically this is saying that it is not appropriate to think about renovations as “investments” since they will rarely increase the value of a home by more than the cost of the project. Sellers sometimes think that they should recover at least 100% of the value of recent projects. Every situation is different, so in some cases that may be true, but in general remodeling projects do not “pay for themselves” except when the owner’s enjoyment of the finished work is factored in.

- Most of the projects with higher payback percentages are structural renovations that have little opportunity to customize. For example, siding and window replacements rank highly. On the other hand, projects that are often very specific to the owners bring a lower payback. Examples here include a sunroom addition or a home office renovation.

- At the national level, payback amounts for most projects have decreased since last year. However in the New England region paybacks have actually increased for most projects, though the report doesn’t try to explain why this might be true. Perhaps the data simply reflects the fact that the housing stock in New England is older than in other parts of the country so renovations are more important here.

- Payback amounts are generally higher in the Hartford metro area than in the New England region, which are in turn higher than the national averages. Renovation projects are apparently very cost effective in our area – good news for us! Three projects return an average of more than 100% in Greater Hartford (siding replacement, converting attic space to a bedroom, and replacing the front door).

Check out the full report to see the specifics for any projects that you’re considering. The key message that the study sends is that each dollar spent on the average remodeling project translates into less than a dollar of increased value for your home. That being said, the payback for every project is going to be different. It will be based on the needs of your home and specific decisions made within the project.

The condo features an updated, eat-in kitchen with plenty of cabinet space, a living room with fireplace, and a private slate patio. The two spacious bedrooms upstairs each have their own full bath and generous closet space. Laundry is located on the first floor of the unit. Also enjoy all the amenities of the Tunxis Village community, including tennis courts, the swimming pool, hiking trails, and even a car wash station.

84 Tunxis Village is offered at $216,000. If you’d like to see it, please have your agent arrange a showing or call me at 860-655-2125 to schedule a visit. Alternatively, you could stop by our open house on Sunday, June 28th from 1:00-3:00.

Here are some pictures for a preview…

First was the front page piece titled Price Cuts Spur Home Sales. December existing home sales data was released on Monday. The market had expected another month-over-month decrease after November’s 9.4% drop in the number of transactions. However, the December report showed a 6.5% increase in sales over November. Amazingly, 45% of the sales in December 2008 are reported to be either foreclosures or sales in which the owner sells for less than they owe the bank, also known as a “short sale.”

The article goes on to discuss some of the main factors impacting the falling home prices. The three key factors seem to be local employment opportunities, inventory/supply (amount of new construction during the recent boom), and general confidence in the market. The Greater Hartford region is not specifically discussed, but it is clear that we are in better shape that many parts of the country. Employment remains our biggest threat – more job losses could trigger an increase in inventory and a simultaneous reduction in demand. Overzealous construction is a relatively small risk because most of the land in this region was either already developed or protected as green space before the recent housing boom. Everyone has had their confidence shaken (some on multiple occasions) over the past 18 months, but for the most part I don’t get the sense that we’ve collectively given up hope. People seem to be taking a business as usual approach with an extra helping of caution.

The next interesting article in today’s Journal was a quick blurb titled Many Say Goodbye to McMansions. Recent surveys of both builders and buyers suggest that people are planning to move to smaller homes. This result is not terribly surprising due to the current economic environment (can’t afford as large a home), the shift in attitude away from speculating on residential real estate (don’t believe home prices will rise quickly) and the recent energy shock (can’t believe how much it costs to heat the “great room”). This would suggest that newer, larger, more expensive homes, which are often built at the outskirts of communities, would be most at risk of losing value.

The last item in the Journal, PowerShares Goes Bargain Hunting discusses two new actively managed ETFs that will buy distressed mortgages. The funds will focus on bonds backed by pools of prime and Alt-A (better credit quality than subprime, but not quite as good as prime) mortgages. Experts quoted in the article expressed limited enthusiasm. On the plus side, mortgage backed securities have sold off dramatically over the past few years. No doubt that some bonds have been unfairly punished as investors exited these complex and uniquely individual issues en masse.

The argument against the new ETFs focuses on the timing of the opportunity. Are we really seeing the bottom of the housing market, so that resale values will be sufficient to pay off the mortgages in full? There are additional concerns about whether or not the new ETFs are the appropriate vehicle for investing in the mortgage backed securities markets. ETFs were originally devised as low-cost index investment vehicles that passively replicated equity indexes. The new ETFs are quite different in that they are actively managed and invest in the less transparent bond market. There are other ETFs already on the market that have similar structures, but they are all relatively new.

Finally, multiple sources are reporting the Case-Shiller Index number for November. The index of 20 large metropolitan regions shows prices falling about 18% on average from November 2007 to November 2008. The Hartford region is not included in the data, but our Northeastern surrogates of Boston and New York both experienced smaller price drops than the overall average.

This round of coverage illustrates that home prices continue to be a major point of interest for both the financial markets and the general citizenry. Data continues to show falling prices, and analysis suggests that prices could fall further. For Greater Hartford, the key metrics continue to be employment and confidence. As long as our job markets and wages remain reasonably stable, there is no reason to expect home prices in this area to go into a freefall.

Median sale price for 2008 was $372,500 compared to $357,500 in 2007. The Average Days on Market for 2008 was 60 days, versus 57 days last year. The Average Sale Price per Square Foot in 2008 was $169.75, in 2007 it was $170.86. Finally, the Sale Price to List Price Ratio for 2008 was 96.7%, compared to 97.1% in 2007.

The following two graphs present the same data, the number of closed transactions by month. Typically the busy period is in the early summer which means the majority of the closings happen between May and August.

It’s also interesting to look at the distribution of sales by price point to get a better sense of what the Median Sale Price really means. This graph helps you understand how a town’s inventory is distributed by price range and can be compared to other towns.

As always, I’m available to answer any questions you may have. Feel free to post a comment or send me an email.

Median sale price for 2008 was $374,950 compared to $390,000 in 2007. The Average Days on Market for 2008 was 65 days, versus 70 days last year. The Average Sale Price per Square Foot in 2008 was $179.85, in 2007 it was $179.62. Finally, the Sale Price to List Price Ratio for 2008 was 95.7%, compared to 96.1% in 2007.

The following two graphs present the same data, the number of closed transactions by month. Typically the busy period is in the early summer which means the majority of the closings happen between May and August.

It’s also interesting to look at the distribution of sales by price point to get a better sense of what the Median Sale Price really means. This graph helps you understand how a town’s inventory is distributed by price range and can be compared to other towns.

As always, I’m available to answer any questions you may have. Feel free to post a comment or send me an email.

Median sale price for 2008 was $343,450 compared to $374,750 in 2007. The Average Days on Market for 2008 was 95 days, versus 81 days last year. The Average Sale Price per Square Foot in 2008 was $159.91, in 2007 it was $177.21. Finally, the Sale Price to List Price Ratio for 2008 was 94.7%, compared to 96.9% in 2007.

The following two graphs present the same data, the number of closed transactions by month. Typically the busy period is in the early summer which means the majority of the closings happen between May and August.

It’s also interesting to look at the distribution of sales by price point to get a better sense of what the Median Sale Price really means. This graph helps you understand how a town’s inventory is distributed by price range and can be compared to other towns.

As always, I’m available to answer any questions you may have. Feel free to post a comment or send me an email.

Median sale price for 2008 was $470,000, compared to $524,000 in 2007. The Average Days on Market for 2008 was 73 days, versus 64 days last year. The Average Sale Price per Square Foot in 2008 was $175.68, in 2007 it was $185.11. Finally, the Sale Price to List Price Ratio for 2008 was 95.8%, compared to 97.5% in 2007.

The following two graphs present the same data, the number of closed transactions by month. Typically the busy period is in the early summer which means the majority of the closings happen between May and August.

It’s also interesting to look at the distribution of sales by price point to get a better sense of what the Median Sale Price really means. This graph helps you understand how a town’s inventory is distributed by price range and can be compared to other towns.

As always, I’m available to answer any questions you may have. Feel free to post a comment or send me an email.

We have 4 ginormous maple trees that hover over our postage stamp sized lot in Hartford. Our yard is also fenced, which causes challenges in getting our leaves to the street for vacuum pickup. But somehow we manage. Each year rakes, tarps, and an electric leaf blower are used to usher our collection to the street. One good thing about the impressive piles we create is the no one can park in front of our house for a few days. I love creating traffic chaos.

Depending on where you live, you’ll have your own struggles with the leaves. The town may pick them up for you (bagged or with a vacuum), or you may need to bring them to an area landfill/waste site. Here are links to area towns in Greater Hartford and what you can expect this year regarding the schedule for leaf removal. Happy raking!

Avon
Bloomfield
East Hartford
Farmington
Glastonbury
Hartford
Manchester
New Britain
Newington
Rocky Hill
Simsbury
South Windsor
West Hartford
Wethersfield
Windsor
Vernon