Archive for the 'West Hartford' Category
West Hartford to Glastonbury
Many of the buyers I work with are hell bent on living in West Hartford. Well, at least they start out that way. West Hartford is attractive as a town for many reasons. It provides fairly good highway and major road access for commuting to Hartford and other towns. There are several shopping areas sprinkled throughout town that offer just about any store or restaurant cuisine you could want. There are lots of parks. The neighborhoods are walkable. Many buyers like the school system and just the feel that the town offers.
Then we start looking at houses in their price range, whatever that may be. We look at house after house and they determine that they can’t get one or two of the major things that they want in their price range. A family room. Or a larger yard. Or two and a half bathrooms. Or an updated kitchen. Or a 2-car garage. Or air conditioning. They start to feel like they can’t get what they want for the money they can spend. What to do? Typically they ratchet down their house expectations or give up on West Hartford and try to find a similar town where they can get more for their money.
And the town I find that competes the most with West Hartford when folks are in this situation? Glastonbury. Over the past few years I’ve seen this occur time and time again. My buyers pound their fists on the table that they’re so excited to buy in West Hartford. They eventually get depressed when they can’t find a house that meets their expectations and their budget. A colleague tells them that they live in Glastonbury and they should look there. So we do. And they end up buying in Glastonbury.
Glastonbury is similar to West Hartford in many respects; good road access for commuting, shopping and restaurants in town, walkable neighborhoods, nice parks. It is geographically larger than West Hartford (51 square miles versus 22 square miles) so more driving here and there is usually necessary. But typically it seems you can get more house (and a larger lot) for the money in Glastonbury. The average price per square foot for 2009 in Glastonbury was $163, compared to $167 in West Hartford. Property taxes are generally lower for houses of a similar size with similar amenities.
I’ve found this interesting over the years and am still seeing it today. Has anyone out there had similar experiences during their search?
6 Farnham Road, West Hartford
This updated Colonial located in a quiet West Hartford neighborhood is the perfect opportunity for a first time home buyer. The home offers 1,260 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 1.5 baths. The formal living room has a wood burning fireplace and access to an enclosed 3-season porch. The formal dining room opens to the kitchen and has a built-in hutch and chair rail. A renovated kitchen, half bath, and access to the attached garage round out the first floor layout. Upstairs there are three good sized bedrooms and a full bath. Plenty of storage space is offered with walk-up attic access. Hardwood floors and period moldings add to the charm of the home. The backyard is level and fully fenced. Maintenance is relatively carefree with a freshly painted exterior, a newer roof, newer windows, and gas heat.
6 Farnham Road is offered at $275,000. If you’d like to see this home, please have your agent arrange a showing, call me at 860-655-2125 to schedule a visit, or stop by the open house on March 7 between 1:00pm-3:00pm.
Buyers + ??? = Deals
We just got back from the Tuesday broker’s open house tour in West Hartford. It’s always fun to see the new listings and talk with the other agents about what is going on in the market.
One of the common themes right now seems to be that there are more buyers actively looking for homes than there are sellers. Many agents reported having trouble finding homes that their buyer clients are interested in purchasing. We are even seeing bidding wars for highly desirable properties.
Sellers, this could be a good opportunity to take advantage of the active buyer pool. Homes that show well and are priced correctly are selling quickly. However, buyers are still concerned about overpaying, so don’t think that you can name your price – it needs to be based in reality.
Buyers, you need to remember that there are other people looking for houses too. Quite a few of them, in fact. If you are looking for a move-in ready home, in a desirable location, then you’re going to need to be ready to react quickly to new listings. You’ll need to rely on your agent and your personal experience to determine a fair price. Lowball offers and automatic discounts from the asking price are unlikely to succeed with newer listings.
Our concern is that all the sellers are waiting … waiting … waiting, and it’s going to create a feeding frenzy in March and April. Agents are asking sellers to list sooner, since there is little competition for them, but sellers just aren’t ready.
The driving force behind the buyer/seller imbalance is the Home Buyer’s Tax Credit. Buyers need to have a purchase contract in place by the end of April in order to qualify, so they’re out shopping earlier in the year than normal. We expected sellers to recognize this opportunity and list their homes earlier in the spring market than normal, but so far buyers seem to be outnumbering sellers by a considerable margin.
This could be an opportunity, sellers. Check with your agent to see what their take is on your situation. And if you don’t have an agent, then give us a call – we’re always happy to help.