374 South Main Street, West Hartford

374 South Main Street, West Hartford

Enjoy historic character with modern updates in this 1820s Federal style home! A side entry opens to the spacious and bright foyer. The foyer space was the home’s original kitchen, and includes an oversized hearth, turned stairs, wall paneling and more. French doors bring you into the formal living, which features a fireplace and built ins. An oversized pocket door leads to the dining room, with a fireplace and corner cabinet. The rear wing was

Government Intervention in the Real Estate Market

Tax Credit - Trailing 12 Month Sales

While reviewing real estate transaction data, the following chart caught our attention. It shows the number of single-family home sales that have closed in Hartford County over rolling 12 month periods. Said another way, each data point is the number of total sales over the previous 12 months. Note that this chart has nothing to do with values, only transaction counts. The line in the chart bounces around in the 8,000 deals-per-year range from the

Federal Tax Credit for Consumer Energy Efficiency

Another federal tax credit is about to expire, though this one isn’t getting nearly the amount of publicity as the home buyer tax credit. The credit for Consumer Energy Efficiency is an effort to reward homeowners who make energy-related improvements on their property. Through the end of 2010, the government is offering a tax credit of 30% of costs up to $1,500 for small scale residential projects. The energystar.gov website gives a nice overview of

Vultures as Angels

There was an interesting article in last week’s Wall Street Journal about the success a hedge fund is having in modifying mortgages and keeping homeowners in their homes. The point of the article was to highlight a successful private market example of mortgage modifications, in this case a distressed investment fund, as compared to the highly publicized Federal programs like the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). A key difference between the hedge fund’s strategy and