Westport, Connecticut Moves

It was 5 o'clock and time to call it a day.  Before getting in my car, I went to the trunk, to retrieve everything I had tossed there, earlier, before taking out this afternoon's buyers. There it was, the library book I forgot to return, this morning.  Should I wait 'til tomorrow and incur the 25¢ late fee.  I couldn't do it - I'm a REALTOR® - in this market, we can't afford to waste any money.  So, I took the slight detour and headed for the library.

What was going on?  As I pulled in, I was greeted by a parking lot filled with fire trucks.  A couple of dozen people were milling around.  Parents held on to their small children, waiting to hear when they would be able to retrieve their belongings. 

There were firemen spread around the area, but there didn't appear to be any sense of emergency.  I parked and cautiously approached the front door.  Perhaps I could get to the dropoff slot after all - I was still determined to save that 25¢.

As I approached the front door,I spotted a librarian, that I knew. 

What happened?  "It's a false alarm.  They're just waiting to rearm the system."

Do you know what caused it? "Yes, a boy pulled the alarm." 

Was it intentional, or just a little kid, fooling around?  "It was an 11 year old and he was here with his mother."

I wonder what the mother said to her young son.  A fire, in a public building, potentially could involve lots of innocent people.  No wonder so many trucks responded.  Did his mother explain that by diverting all that fire and rescue personnel, those resources were not available, if a real emergency took place?  We go about our daily lives and take it for granted that these rescuers will be there, when we need them. 

I went home and looked up the statistics.  The Westport Fire Department responds to approximately 4,000 incidents, each year.  They not only respond to the obvious fire calls and motor vehicle accidents, but they are ready, when needed for medical emergencies, animal rescues, chemical spills, lockouts and bomb threats.  In our wonderfully treed community, when the storms show up and the winds pick up, they are on call for the inevitable downed power lines.  Living along Long Island Sound, their dive teams are always on alert for water resues.

Fortunately, false alarms are rare, in our town.  But, if one should be called in, when a true emergency exists, it can still spell disaster.  I hope that young man learned that lesson, today.

The other day, I received yet another scam e-mail. It arrived via my AR contact address.  This latest e-mail was worthy of a Shakespearean drama.

The protagonist's mother dies, when she is only 6 years old.  She is lovingly raised by her father.  Her father, a successful businessman, travels abroad, on a business trip, with his uncle.  While on that trip, he is murdered, the result of a sinister plot that the uncle has master-minded.

Before he succumbs, the father manages to summon his secretary and reveal to him that he has stashed away $15.7 million.  It is in a (security?) box at a leading African Security company.  He instructs the secretary to deposit the funds in his beloved daughter's name.  He then scratches out implicit instructions, to his lawyer.  He takes his last breath, and dies.  CURTAIN...end of ACT I

The daughter, an innocent University student, is now an orphan and homeless.  She is totally on her own.  She does not know who to turn to, for help.  Whom can she trust, who will advise her, who will take care of her, where can she live?  She is depressed and disheartened.

A light dawns.  She knows what to do.  She will scan the members of ActiveRain.  After all, who is more trustworthy than a REALTOR®?  The funds are unimportant.  She will give this person whatever percentage of the money, he wants.  She rushes to her computer to find her victim saviour.  CURTAIN...end of ACT II

ACT III

If anyone is foolish enough to fall for this plot, he (she) will divulge all of his personal information, in order to transfer the funds.  He will end up losing his identity and everything he owns.

After all...it is a Shakespearean tragedy. 

 It's the call we all wait for.

"I saw your listing, at 123 Main Street and would like some
more information about it.   Please call me at fawtwonineohfawehto."

Now. I do understand - really.  It's your phone number, you've repeated it at least a thousand times and you know it really well.  But, I have no idea who you are.  You haven't left your name.  My caller ID is coming up "Name Unknown"  and your phone number, pronounced as a single word, was spoken at the speed of light.

Usually, after playing back the message six or seven times, I can discern all the numbers.  However, it would be a lot easier if you just slowed down, when leaving your phone number.

I wonder how many calls have not been returned, simply because the phone number could not be deciphered.

Next time you leave your number, pretend you are speaking to someone who has just learned the language.  Slow down and enunciate!  You just may get that call-back.

There have been 75 single family home sales, in Westport Connecticut, year-to-date.  That represents a 41% decline, over the same period, a year ago.  More than a third of those homes sold for under $1,000,000.  Clearly, it has been a great opportunity for buyers to move to Westport, who previously could not afford it.  But, is that trend coming to an end?

Currently, there are 51 properties, reported with a sale pending.  Only 16% of those homes are listed, under $1 milliion.  44% of the pending sales are for homes listed over $2 million.  This compares with 28%, sold in that price point, Y-T-D.  It is still a "Buyer's Market", and unit sales continue to lag behind 2007.  With, sale prices of comparable homes trending down from last year, the more traditional Westport buyer may be returning to the market. 

THIS DATA IS COMPILED FROM THE CONSOLIDATED MULTIPLE LISTING SERVICE AND MAY NOT ALWAYS BE ACCURATE. NO WARRANTY IS MADE AS TO THE ACCURACY OF THIS INFORMATION. YOU SHOULD VERIFY ANY INFORMATION THAT IS IMPORTANT TO YOUR BUYING

Inventories are up, prices have eased and interest rates remain near historic lows.  Clearly, it's a Buyer's Market. So, why aren't the buyers buying?

In my market, Westport, CT, activity appears to be picking up.  Listings are receiving showings and anecdotal evidence indicates that agents are not lacking buyers.  Yet, statistics, for the past two months (March and April), show units sales down, to half the pace of a year ago.

Certainly, some buyers are facing real obstacles:                          
   *Their current home may be on the market, but not yet sold
   *They may be having trouble arranging financing

Yet, that doesn't explain the whole picture.  Clearly, more factors are influencing the market.

The extensive reporting, on the collapse of the housing market, may have led buyers to unrealistic expectations. While the current environment certainly provides an opportunity for buyers to move to communities and/or purchase homes that were previously out of their reach,  it does not mean that properties are being given away.

More than once, I've reminded clients that "This is a Buyer's Market, not a Fire Sale".  The media has convinced buyers to make really low offers.  So even when prices have been significantly reduced, sometimes below market value, I've seen offers come in an additional 10 or 20 percent lower.  No matter how low the price, they've been conditioned to believe, they should pay less.

Some buyers are afraid to make a decision, because the market may go lower.   While they are trying to "time the market", they may miss out on some truly good buying opportunities.  Finding the bottom can only be done in hindsight.  By then, the house they wanted will no longer be available and prices of new listings will be higher.

If the house is right and the price reflects market value, the time to buy is now.

Yesterday, I joined with 700 or so REALTORS®, as we descended on Hartford
for the annual REALTORS® at the Capitol day.

The morning began with an orientation session, to familarize us with the details of the proposed bills, being addressed.  The hottest issue, on the agenda, was the increased municipal portion of the conveyance tax.  Under current law, the 2003 emergency increase in the tax is finally set to "sunset" on June 30, 2008.  The increased tax, was originally enacted for one year, but has been extended three times.  The proposed bill would make the increase permanent.

Following the orientation session, we moved to break-out sessions, to meet with Legislators from our local areas.  It was here that we had the opportunity to vocalize our opposition to this increased burden on Connecticut homesellers.  One disturbing characterization of our opposition, was hearing it referred to as "the REALTORS® bill.  One Representative reiterated a finding, reported to the larger assembly, that the increased tax had not had an impact on home sales and therefore was not hurting the Real Estate agent's income.

That brought a sharp retort, explaining that we, as REALTORS® did not come to Hartford to fight for ourselves.  Our pupose was to look out for the best interests of our clients, the Connecticut homebuyers and sellers.  It was further explained that, especially in the current market, when many people have little or no equity in their homes and may already be selling at a loss, hitting them with a double tax is an unfair burden.

We were told that we were "preaching to the choir" and that they were on our side. However, the municipalities had gotten used to the extra revenue and they also had a strong lobby, pushing to make the increase permanent.  Realistically, it was stated, there was little chance that the bill would be defeated.

They were correct, to some extent.  Today, the Legislature's Finance Committe voted 29-to-21 to overturn the scheduled "sunset" of the increased tax.  But, it turns out, we did have an impact. Our presence, plus thousands of signatures on antitax petitions, which we delivered, brought about a small victory.  In place of the bill to make the increased tax permanent, a substitute bill will be brought to the full House and Senate, which extends the increase for another two years.

We will continue to urge the legislature to vote against the bill and allow the tax to "sunset." 

30% Off! Two for One Sale!  No Money Down!  - Who doesn't  love a Bargain?

So why is it that so many buyers pass up the biggest bargain in Real Estate - working with a Buyer's Agent?

While conducting an Open House, at one of my listings, I had the opportunity to meet some potential buyers, in my market.  The conversations covered the normal grounds...Please sign the guest registry, Are you working with a REALTOR®?, Have you been looking long?  Have you been to other Open Houses? Did you see any homes that you liked?  Is this your price range?  How soon do you want to purchase?  Do you have a home to sell?

Once it was determined that my listing was not the right home for them, and confirmed that they were not signed with another agent, I would offer to search for other properities that were appropriate for their needs and show them any, in which they were interested.

Some buyers are happy to have someone search the market, for them, determine the homes that meet the parameters they set, do the resesarch on how long the homes have been for sale, when they last sold, for how much, arrange appointments to see them, etc.

The conversations that amaze me, however, go something like this.  

- I realize this house doesn't work for you.  I'd be happy to show you some other homes that better fit your needs.

- Thanks for offering, but we like to find the houses ourselves.

- Where do you find them?

- Oh, we drive around and if we see an Open House sign and the house looks nice, we stop.

- Not all listings have Open Houses.

- Yeah, but we look online, too, and if we want to see a house, we call the listing agent

- You do realize that the listing agent's responsibility is to look out for the best interests of their client, the owner. 

- That's okay, we know how this works.  We can take care of ourselves and we can get a better deal because there's one less agent collecting a commission.

- The number of agents doesn't change the size of the commission.  The owner has a contract with the listing broker and they've already agreed on a commission amount.  If you have an agent represent you as a buyer, he or she will receive his or her fee, as part of that commission.  It's a great opportunity to have a REALTOR®  working exclusively for you and someone else pays the bill.

- Well, maybe..but we'll pass.  We'd rather do it ourselves.

. 

This weekend, Mother Nature, with a big assist from the power company's freelance crew , managed to place me incommunicado. 

It started Saturday afternoon, with heavy rain and wind.  Connecticut was not suffering anywhere near the devastation that was hitting other parts of the country, but in this neck of the woods, combine strong winds with our beautiful tree-lined streets and you can bet on power outages.  Our power was out for a few hours, Saturday afternoon, but our trusty generator took care of that.

Sunday, however, was a different story.  We woke up to find the top half of a large tree, resting on the power line to our property.  We immediately called the power company to remove it, fully expecting them to say it would be a long wait until they could get to it.  We were pleasantly surprised to see a crew show up a few hours later.  They made quick work of the tree and were gone before we knew it.  Also gone was our cable line and phone line.

Two more phone calls, one to the phone company and the other to Cable.  Okay, cable would be back, later that night (actually turned out to be a day and a night.)  But, phone, not back 'til late Tues. night. YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING!!!

How could I survive?  No e-mail, no faxes, no phone calls (my cell doesn't work very well, in my house), no printing, no copies, no T.V.  NO ACTIVE RAIN!!!   

Okay, I admit, it wasn't THAT BAD.  Some forced down time may not be such a bad thing.  We still had power and the T.V. hook up to the VCR and DVD was fully functional.  We settled down to an evening of old movies...everything from "The Sum of All Fears" to "Cheaper By the Dozen."

The phone's still out, but at least, I'm back online.  It's amazing how dependent we've become on our technological inventions.