These post-COVID days, I often ask newcomers to Westport where they came from: “Manhattan or Brooklyn?”
Most times, I’m right. It’s like the RTM passed an ordinance, limiting homebuyers to those 2 boroughs.
But a large slice of the real estate pie belongs to people who already live here.
I don’t ask them where they’re coming from, because they’re already here. They’ve just moved from one part of town to another.
Our friends at KMS Team at Compass say that last year, 61% of Westport homes were sold to buyers from Connecticut. And many of them were already Westporters.
The most expensive home on the Westport market right now is this 4-bedroom, 5 1/2-bathroom, 8,246-square foot house on 1.35 acres, at 279 Saugatuck Avenue. It’s listed at $12,500,000.
Their reasons vary.
Buyers on Hazelnut Road, for example, wanted more space than their previous home here. Trading up for a pool and room to entertain was important; proximity to schools was a bonus.
New homeowners on Hillspoint Road already lived in the neighborhood. They bought a house they had always admired, when it hit the market.
Sometimes, it’s time for something new. New construction on Maple Avenue North appealed to one clinet.
Others make the jump from renting to buying, as beach residents did with property on nearby Bradley Street.
A growing family wanted a bigger home, but did not want to leave Greens Farms Elementary School. They bought a new home on Center Street.
Empty nesters — no longer needing to live near a school, but with grown children and grandchildren who liked the “vacation” feel of the water — downsized to Saugatuck Shores.
One family wanted to move close to Compo Beach. They explored building a home there, then bought on Soundview Drive when they discovered how expensive new construction would be.
Some downsizers hoping to shed the responsibility of a home, but remain in town, buy condos — new construction like The Mill or Bankside House, or ones that have been in Westport for years, like Harvest Commons, Regents Park or Lansdowne.
Bankside House (lower left) on Wilton Road appeals to Westporters looking to sell their home, move into a condo, and be close to downtown.
So my question to newcomers — “Did you come from Manhattan or Brooklyn” — may still be valid.
But for all those “invisible” new homeowners — those who were already Westporters, of 3 or perhaps 30 years — the right one might be: “So why did you move 2 miles away?”
FUN FACT: Last year, 199 Westport homebuyers (61%) came from Connecticut, and 74 more (23%) from New York.
There were 8 buyers from Texas, 6 from overseas and 5 each from Massachusetts and California (2% each). Another 4 buyers came from Florida and New Jersey (1% each). The remaining 22 buyers (7%) came from other states.
(“06880” covers the Westport real estate market regularly. If you like those stories — or anything else on our hyper-local blog — please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
