Ridgefield, CT Real Estate Market Report: Home Sales August 2008

August 11th, 2008 categories: Buying Your House, Market Data & Statistics, Ridgefield, Selling Your House, Talking Real Estate

Do we have a national weather report? You know, just one report like “in the US today it will be sunny day in the mid-80’s…” Never seen that? It doesn’t work because weather is local.

It can’t be done with real estate either… just like weather, real estate is local. So all these headlines shouting “20% foreclosure rate” and “prices down over 30%” might apply to other locales but I can tell you they’re not talking about Ridgefield, CT!

Ridgefield Real Estate Report

What we’ve seen thru the beginning of August is a real estate market that remains active and still shows significant activity. Year-to-date, the number of transactions still trail last year by about 30% and, by looking at the Ridgefield median home price, prices have only dropped about 10% over the last 18 months. Inventory has started to wane as the good houses (best condition, best price) are quickly bought while the others will continue to linger on the market. Buyers are still blessed with access to low mortgage rates and Brad and I keep relationships with the best mortgage professionals in the business so you can be certain that with a good credentials, borrowing money will never be a problem.

A closer look at the numbers reveals an interesting trend this year: sales activity is focused on the lower end of the market. The graph shows a distinct shift in 2008 from Ridgefield luxury real estate and more towards the entry and mid levels. We’re definitely seeing more young families getting into town for the terrific schools and other sought-after amenities while owners at the high end are holding onto their homes and anticipating better times to come.

I can’t say exactly when things will bottom-out but I can tell you that just like the weather, the report is local but it is also affected by many larger forces. As the election shakes out, oil prices drop back to reasonable levels and the banks realigned themselves with manageable lending behavior, the Ridgefield real estate market will see some gains again. It might not be until 2009 or 2010, but all markets are cyclical and we’ll ride this out better than 98% of the rest of the country.

Don’t ever hesitate to call us if you have any questions about this information or anything else. We’re always available to help in any way we can.