You just moved to Ridgefield with toddlers! Now what?

Ridgefield is an absolutely fabulous place to raise a family! Excellent schools, plenty of activities, the first Cultural District in the state of Connecticut, close proximity to NYC and it’s consistently one of the safest towns in America.

So you just moved here and have toddlers. Welcome! Now what? Our first recommendation is to get connected to the Ridgefield Newcomers, Ridgefield Moms Club, Mothers of Preschoolers, or another group where you can meet other families who are new to town.

  • Our area is home to plenty of parks, museums and playgrounds that you can check out with your little ones. Here are a few of our favorites:
  • Ballard Park in downtown Ridgefield has a fabulous new playground, beautiful gazebo and lovely gardens plus fabulous free CHIRP concerts in the summer.
  • Ambler Farm in Wilton celebrates our community’s agrarian roots through active learning programs, sustainable agriculture, responsible land stewardship, and historic preservation. They hold plenty of programs year round and are home to many animals you can visit every day.
  • Woodcock Nature Center in Wilton offers terrific hiking trails and camps.
  • Stepping Stones Children’s Museum and The Maritime Aquarium are both located in Norwalk with plenty of programs for kids of all ages.
    Silverman’s Farm in Easton is home to a petting zoo and plenty of pick-your-own fruit orchards.

Head to the Ridgefield Library and learn more about their many free programs for children, including storytime and music classes that take place in Ballard Park in the summer. They also have plenty of programs and book clubs for parents, and their daily newsletter contains a lot of valuable community resources.

Don’t miss The Prospector Theater, a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to providing competitive and integrated employment to people with disabilities through the operation of a premium, first-run movie theater located right here in Ridgefield. In addition to their incredible mission, they show family-friendly movies and serve gourmet treats. Plus, it’s a fabulous date night destination!

We highly recommend you subscribe to newsletters like Hamlet Hub for more information on what’s happening here in town. We are proud to welcome you to our community and hope you love it as much as we do!

Getting Ready To Sell? Consider Donating to ReStore

It’s a fabulous time to think about listing your home for sale, and many of our clients have started cleaning out their homes to prepare. Most people need to get rid of some furniture before listing to make space for staging. Particularly if you’ll be downsizing, you may not need all of your furniture once you move to a new home, and we wanted to be sure you knew about the ReStore benefitting Habitat for Humanity.

With several locations in Connecticut, ReStore is a home and hardware retail thrift store open to the public selling new and gently used furniture, appliances, and building materials. The ReStore provides an environmentally and socially responsible way to keep good, reusable articles out of the waste stream while providing funding for Habitat’s community improvement work. Sales from the ReStore benefit Habitat for Humanity’s housing programs and their mission to provide decent, affordable homes!

Here is a list of items they accept and sell at the store:
• Appliances (for example: refrigerators, stoves/ovens, washers/dryers, small household appliances)
• Kitchen and Bathroom Cabinets
• Furniture (for example: sofas, dining sets, dressers, mirrors, bedroom sets)
• Lighting & Plumbing Fixtures
• Building Materials (for example: windows and doors, lumber and trim, tiles, flooring)
• Home Décor Items

ReStore picks up donations throughout Fairfield County. To schedule a pickup, email donate@restorecfc.org with your name, address, phone number and items to be donated. Or you can call (203) 383-4358 and leave a message. Keep in mind there is generally a two-week lead time from when you make the request. You can also follow the Danbury Store on Instagram at danburyrestore.

Ridgefield 2021 Year End Market Report

The 2021 Real Estate Market maintained momentum but felt less panicked than in 2020. The number of sales decreased slightly from 556 to 482 mostly due to a lack of inventory, which remains challenging. Buyers are still out in force and homes are selling in 60 days on average, as opposed to 70 days in 2020. The overall sales volume only differed by $38,000 from 2020 on a total sales volume of $451,645,946. Homes also generally sold at or above asking.

Looking ahead, while it continues to be a seller’s market, the frenzied pace of 2020 has subsided to a dull roar. There are still plenty of buyer’s looking for homes, and with mortgage rates expected to rise slightly – although still remaining historically low – there is a sense of urgency to find the perfect property. Inventory remains the biggest challenge, but we are encouraged already this year with many sellers’ reaching out to begin the process of listing their home. Ridgefield has benefited from continued remote work options and the quality of life and vibrancy of our town is clearly getting noticed. We also continue to see Ridgefield residents trading up and down in this market, which speaks volumes for our community.

SEE THE FULL REPORT HERE

Ridgefield Highlights

• There was a 13% decrease in the number of homes sold in 2021 compared to 2020
• There was a 15% increase in the median sales price year over year
• There was a 15% increase in the average sales price year over year
• Homes priced in the $1.0 to $1.25 million range saw an increase from 47 to 70 sales this year
• The higher end of the Ridgefield luxury market – over $2 million – saw huge gains with 19 sales in 2021 compared to 11 in 2020
• The highest value home sold in Ridgefield in 2021 was $6.6 million

Fairfield County

2021 continued to boast favorable market conditions for towns throughout Fairfield County. While many places saw double digit growth in median sales value, the number of sales decreased year over year in most areas. Greenwich, New Canaan, Norwalk and Stamford were exceptions to this rule and experienced large gains in both the number and value of their single-family home sales. Weston experienced an unprecedented growth in median sales price (35%) over 2020. As is being felt everywhere, if inventory stays fluid, we expect to continue to see price and the number of sales hold steady