Leaving West Hartford?

Hartford City LineYesterday the weather was perfect for a winter open house. Pretty much a spring day in February. My sellers in the West End of Hartford had some good traffic come through their homes, with lots of people seriously looking.

I had some good conversations with the various buyers and I noticed an interesting trend emerging. Of the 23 groups of people that visited my open house, 8 were from West Hartford. Every one of them indicated that they are upset with the high taxes in West Hartford and are looking to relocate to the West End of Hartford because they can get more house for the money and enjoy lower taxes. The buyers were families with children in the West Hartford public schools and Hartford magnet schools, families with children in private schools, familes with children not yet old enough to be in school, young couples, and a retiree.

A few of the families mentioned that they’re rapidly outgrowing their current West Hartford homes but both the housing prices and subsequent taxes associated with a “move up” home made the monthly housing payments financially unaffordable to them. So they’re starting to explore Hartford because they realize they can get a lot more for their money. The average price per square foot in West Hartford last year was $175/square foot, versus $127/square foot in the West End of Hartford. Taxes can also be significantly different. For example, the $5,500 annual taxes on my 3,200 square foot West End home would run me anywhere from approximately $8,000 to $10,000 on a comparable home in West Hartford.

There always seems to be a lot of debate about budgets in West Hartford, perhaps this is some early evidence of people voting with their feet. Thoughts?