
Confers Farm inventory Fall, 2015
Greenwich realtors report strong October sales
According to the Greenwich Multiple Listing Service, 42 single-family residences were sold in October, little changed from the same month in 2014. The median sale price on such homes rose 23 percent to $2.125 million from $1.725 million.
“October proved to be more positive than anticipated with an increase in median price and a strong amount of closings considering the little showing activity that had taken place at the end of August and through September,” said Joann Erb, president of the Greenwich Association of Realtors and executive sales director at Halstead Property’s Greenwich office.
Erb said 17 percent of homes closed in October sold at or above the listed price, and although November is traditionally the slowest month for closings in Greenwich, there are currently 85 single-family homes under contract, which indicates a stronger market than in years past, she said.
Sales in the $3 million to $7.5 million range … have increased 18 percent from 2014, while the over-$10 million market lags behind with a 67 percent drop.
Nothing against Joann, who’s a friend, former employer and an entirely ethical person in every way, but she speaks as the President of our local monopoly here, and, while the figures she quotes are accurate, there are some other relevant statistics left out – not her fault: the reporter probably didn’t think to ask.
For instance, “17% of October sales sold at or above listed price”. That’s 7 houses, and while I have no doubt that our lowest homes did generate that kind of interest – there just aren’t that many on the market; the high end is freaking moribund. The “days on market” stat for these higher ends, for example, are bogus. 12 Byfield Lane, shows”0″ days on market, not the 1,810 days it was for sale, begging at $11.9 million, before finally being lost to foreclosure and selling for $4.9. 18 Parsonage spent 168 days on the market, according to our statistics, but in fact started at $13.75 million before fetching $9.355 1,376 days later.
And so on. So take the numbers with a grain of salt. There’s still a real estate market going on (although the two weeks before Thanksgiving until Martin Luther King’s birthday are historically our slowest period and will probably be so again this year), but be prepared to be disappointed if you’re expecting a quick sale at your desired price – at least for now.