From CNNMoney.com:

The House of Representatives just voted to give first-time homebuyers three more months to close on their purchases and land an $8,000 federal income tax credit. READ MORE

Note this only applies to people who have already applied for the program in April but needed more time to close.

The Classic condominium building downtown will be holding an auction of 28  units on June 27th.  The building is located at 25 Forest Street in downtown.

Auction is being held at the Stamford Marriott on June 27th.  You can find out additional information here: http://www.theclassicauction.com/

The Wall Street Journal recently released an interesting article highlighting the increase in the number of teardowns in Fairfield County. Positive signs as developers once again seek out affordable land to teardown old run down homes and erect new ones.

In Fairfield County’s commuter towns, new homeowners and real-estate developers are demolishing modest older houses so they can erect grander ones. Empty lots, marked by the telltale Dumpsters and mounds of dirt rising 20 feet high, are becoming a common sight again after a slowdown in so-called teardown activity during the recession.

Teardowns were popular during the housing boom, led by hedge-fund managers and bankers looking to build their dream homes in older, but prestigious, locations just a short train-ride from New York city. But as prices of land and the cost of construction surged, the practice came to a halt.

Now, however, “Land prices have come down to where it is feasible to do this again,” says Mark Victor, a local developer who recently bought and tore down one Westport home and is contract to buy—and demolish—another.

Link to full WSJ article

UPDATE: SALE CANCELED

The once popular swim and tennis club in North Stamford is being auctioned off on May 1st. The club officially closed down roughly three years ago and the property has since been left vacant. What was once a nice swim and tennis club has now fallen into disrepair and has become a hangout for local hooligans. Legal troubles have apparently led to the club’s demise.

The city is now owed several years of back taxes, and they are auctioning it off on May 1. The property is roughly 13 acres and once included 6 tennis courts, two pools, two club houses, and a good size pond. The property now provides a rare opportunity to purchase 13 RA-1 zoned acres in Fairfield County.

I drove by the property and they have the following sign posted outside:

Sign reads that successful bidder will need to have $183,000 certified check at the time of the sale.

I think there is already an over abundance of swim and tennis clubs in Stamford, so I would be surprised if a developer would want to reopen as such. The property is a somewhat odd shape and includes protective wetlands, so not sure how conducive it would be to building multiple single family lots, this property may be better served as some type of school or retirement home.

(NOT OFFICIAL PHOTO)

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A quick look at the possible effect of this past week’s storm on overall sales.
3/1/09 – 3/23/09 Single Family Sales = 18
3/1/10 – 3/23/10 Single Family Sales = 5

I recently drove by an active listing at 291 Chestnut Hill Road and they certainly had quite a bit of property damage. A large tree from the edge of the street fell across their yard and landed feet from the house. Luckily it appeared the house came away unscathed.

Anyone else know of any active listings which sustained damage?

With over 50% of Stamford without power for the past several days, what kind of effect will it have on March sales? The town has been virtually shut down in some areas and schools will be closed tomorrow for the third day in a row. I personally have been without power or water since Saturday. North Stamford appears to be the worst hit along with the neighboring towns of Greenwich and New Canaan.

I will take a look at the MLS over the next several days to try to gauge the impact the storm has had on local sales. Many homes on the market will have major clean up before they can be shown again.

Anyone familiar with a home which received structural damage?

[More to come once I get my electricity back!]

You hear a lot of people say that homes in Stamford are selling at prices seen in 2003. That fact is pretty incredible (and sad) when you start to think about it. After all, someone’s home is often their largest investment and a zero percent return on in investment made in 2003 is astonishing. Although, investing in the stock market in 2003 was no better, the Dow just recently broke through 2003 levels after a sharp drop.

So is it a myth that homes are selling at 2003 prices?  I pulled data outlining the median home price for a single family home in Stamford over the past 9 years.  Sure enough the median home price in 2009 was just about where it was in 2003.

Median Single Family Home Price

I had been skeptical since my assumption was that million dollar plus homes were not moving, thus causing the median price to drop while homes priced under $1,00,000 were maybe at 2005/06 levels. For some further confirmation, I also took a look at seven recently sold homes which had also sold in the previous 8 years. This is not an exact science, since a lot about a home can change in 8 years, but it gives you an idea of where your home may be valued if you purchased it within the past couple of years. It could also be used as a negotiating tool for buyers looking to spot a deal.

Recently Sold Price and Previous Sale Prices

In terms of Single Family and Condo closings  in 2010, we have so far seen an increase in Stamford versus 2009.

Closings from Jan 1 to Feb 22:

2009 = 55 (Median Sale Price = $400,000)

2010 = 87 (Median Sale Price = $401,000)

Interestingly the gap between list price and sale price has also been getting narrower in 2010. Perhaps sellers are more willing to list their homes aggressively…

What exactly is going on at the entrance of Konandreas Drive? They turned their once nice wrought iron gate entrance into strange display of statues. They have a huge eagle and statue of liberty on one side and then another eagle and female figure on the other side. I am suprised someone was able to convince all the residents on this street that this was a good idea. However, don’t even think about getting close to view these statues, stern no trespassing signs are posted everywhere.

William Pitt Sotheby’s recently released their 2009 Annual Report for Fairfield County.  I have made it available by clicking the following link.

Brief overview of Sotheby’s 2010 outlook: