Ridgefield Market Report: 2012 Year In Review

The Tide Has Turned

2012 marked a significant turning point for both Ridgefield real estate and many neighboring towns in Fairfield County. Ridgefield experienced 12% overall growth,and better than expected fourth quarter sales allowed us to out-pace all towns in Fairfield County when compared to the same period in 2011. All of the data points indicate that the number of housing sales will continue to grow to “”pre-crisis””levels,while prices inch up slowly.

Positive Market Conditions.

The conditions for purchasing a home have never been more favorable. Consumer confidence is up, interest rates remain historically low,and home prices are appealing. First-time homebuyers are increasingly anxious to purchase and there is an increase in the number of serious, pre-qualified buyers coming to the table. Corporate relocation purchases have begun a resurgence as well. We also continue to see more Ridgefielder’s recognize the benefits of “trading up”” locally, while empty-nesters look to downsize.

The Price Factor.

Homes that are properly priced continue to outsell their overpriced competitors by a considerable margin when considering days on market and sales-to-list price ratio.It is critical that a home be properly priced in order to attract the largest number of buyers at the highest price.Both the location of the home and its condition play a critical role in determining its fair market value.As a turn­ key property rises to the top of almost every buyer’s wish list,consider having your home evaluated by a Home Staging professional for maximum results.

Download Ridgefield Market Report 2012 Year in Review

http://184.172.173.17/~karlam/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/2012-review.pdf

January Market – Ridgefield

The upward market trend we saw happening in the last quarter of 2012 continued into January of this year. Unit sales were 21 for the month, which is a substantial increase over the 8 unit sales seen in January 2012. The median price of $565,000 shows a slight increase (3.9%) over January last year, where $543,750 was the median. Inventory is actually down, but we expect that to increase as we ramp up for the spring market and I feel confident saying that this will be the best spring selling season in years.

Karla Ridgefield Jan 2013