With interest rates high, how good (or bad) was the 2023 residential real estate market?
Mary Ann Lindwall of the Riverside Realty Group sends along these statistics, courtesy of SmartMLS.
Average Sales Price: The average sales price for single-family homes in Westport was $2,380,509, a modest increase of 0.6% from 2022.
Closed Sales: 327 homes were sold, a 24.8% drop from the previous year.
Inventory Reduction: The number of homes on sale now is 46, a sharp 40% decrease from the 77 homes available at the start of last year.
Days on Market: The average number of days homes spent on the market — 54 — was unchanged from 2022.
Pending Home Sales: There are 20 homes in Westport awaiting closing dates.
Months’ Supply of Inventory: The months’ supply of inventory in Westport decreased by 22.7% from 2022, ending the year at just 1.7 months. According to the National Association of Realtors, this low supply level indicates that demand for homes is outpacing the available supply, potentially leading to further price increases in 2024.
Impact of Interest Rates: The Riverside Realty Group says, “A significant factor influencing the real estate market in 2023 was the rise in interest rates…. interest rates surpassed 8% in October, reaching their highest level in 23 years.
“Since the beginning of 2022, interest rates have more than doubled. Rising rates have led to buyers being priced out of the market, while sellers are inclined to hold on to properties they purchased at more favorable rates.
“This combination of factors, especially the surge in interest rates, has profoundly impacted the dynamics of the Westport real estate market.”
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 $13,900,000.
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For months, residents of Marigny-le-Lozon gathered Christmas gifts for the children of Lyman, Ukraine.
More than 70 years after Westporters sent gifts to the French village — rebuilding, after the devastation of World II, the town not far from the D-Day beaches was paying it forward.
It was our friends in Marigny who suggested, a year and a half ago, that we and they join together to help another town — this one in war-torn Ukraine.
Ukraine Aid International — a non-profit founded by Westporters Brian and Marshall Mayer — facilitated the sister city partnership. They also ensured that Marigny’s gifts made their way directly to 300 children of Lyman.
Here is one of the many Ukrainian youngsters whose holiday was made brighter. Merci, Marigny.
(Photo courtesy of Rene Gautier)
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Fleet Feet is bringing back its partnership with New York Road Runners. Group training begins next Tuesday (January 9).
Workouts — geared to Fairfield County runners of all levels — offer coaching, camaraderie, and the inspiration that comes from running with others.
Runs are Tuesdays and Thursday mornings at 6:15 a.m., through March 14.
There’s also runner strength training at 10;30 on Wednesdays at the Westport Weston Family Y.
The fee is $255 for NYRR members, $295 for non-members. Click here for registration, and more information.
Fleet Feet also sponsors individual coaching, and a kids’ program. Click here for details.
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On the agenda for next Monday’s Planning & Zoning Commission meeting (January 8, 7 p.m., Zoom; www.westportct.gov ): a text and map amendment, and special permit/site plan application, to allow the use of medical offices at 55-57 Greens Farms Road, the office park next to Assumption Cemetery.
Click here for more details, and application materials.
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Officials have implemented new town records management system software. In an effort to combat property and mortgage fraud, residents who sign up will receive notification when official documents are recorded on their property.
Town Clerk Jeff Dunkerton says, “Property fraud can occur if someone forges your identity, transfers your property into their name, and records the document. This fraudulent activity can make it appear as if that person owns your home or property, and you may not have any idea that this happened. It is, unfortunately, becoming more prevalent today as cyber criminals exploit every avenue to cause harm and steal from citizens.”
Last year in Fairfield, a homeowner claimed a $1.5 million home was built on his property without his permission after someone fraudulently sold the land to a property developer.
For more information on the RecordHub software, click here.
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Club 203 — Westport’s social group for adults with disabilities — celebrates the new year with a splash, at the Westport Weston Family YMCA.
Click here for details on the January 13 (6:30 to 8 p.m.) event.
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Westporters took over the WCBS Channel 2 news yesterday — or at least, the weather and sports departments.
Regular chief meteorologist Lonnie Quinn was joined by substitute sports reports Dave Briggs.
Quinn has been with the station for several years. Briggs has been seen on Turner Sports/CNN, NBC Sports, FOX News and Yahoo Finance.
Lonnie Quinn (left) and Dave Briggs, on set.
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Longtime Westporter Maria Teresa Sales Ludovice de Gusmão Sá Couto died early Sunday away after a fierce, prolonged struggle with various health challenges. She was 81.
She was born and raised n Lisbon, Portugal on Nov. Her family says, “with extraordinary courage and resilience, Teresa and her husband Mário Luis Neves Sá Couto made a home with her family on 4 continents. They lived in Lisbon; Bissau, Guinea; Rio de Janeiro and Westport. She took great joy in, and was deeply dedicated to, raising her children and tending to her grandchildren.”
Teresa is survived by her husband; children, Inês Ludovice de Gusmão SáCouto Curwen (William), Susana Ludovice de Gusmão SáCouto (partner Manuella), and Nuno Pedro Ludovice de Gusmão SáCouto (Carrie); sister Maria Isabel Sales Ludovice de Gusmão; grandchildren Tomas Patrick, Maia Amelia, Daniel Kelly, Madeleine Eve and Max Leo, and extended family in Portugal.
A Mass of Christian Burial for Teresa will be held at St. Luke Church on Friday (January 5, noon).
Contributions in lieu of flowers may be sent to the Archdiocese of Hartford Office of Radio & Television or St. Luke Church. To leave condolences for the family, click here.
Maria SaCouto
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Jim Hood has seen a lot of things from his home on Soundview Drive.
But never — until this year — did he see kayakers on New Year’s Day.
They were joined by more common denizens of Long Island Sound, which qualifies this as a “Westport … Naturally” feature.
(Photo/Jim Hood)
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And finally … on this date in 1870, work began on the Brooklyn Bridge.
(Westport connection: Johnny Maestro — former lead singer of the Crests, Del-Satins and Brooklyn Bridge — was a frequent performer at, and longtime favorite of, Festival Italiano.)
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