If you are interested in seeing the apartments just contact me at 203-554-0951. If youre reading about this for the first time, the general rule of thumb for rent here is $2000/mo for a one bedroom, $3000/mo for a two bedroom and $4000/mo for a three bedroom in a luxury setting.

Reprinted from REALTOR.com

Real estate websites serve as an important platform to help buyers find their next home, and certainly help sellers expose their listings to those buyers.

But in our view, real estate websites are a starting point, not the ultimate decision engine.

Accurate data and up-to-date listings are very important, but ultimately, we believe the expertise provided by a real estate professional is a far better indicator of true market value than an estimate derived by machine.

That’s why we only display REAL PRICES on homes for sale on REALTOR.com®. Real prices that have been established between a seller and the listing broker, not a mechanized estimate.

Estimates may be OK if they’re used as a reference point to gather general information, but we feel placing mechanized estimates on an active listing that’s been priced by a local professional familiar with the market is misleading.

At best, these estimates are confusing to consumers. At worst, they create the perception of market conditions that don’t accurately reflect reality.

That’s why we don’t do it.

The real estate market is not a “paint-by-numbers” animal. Local market conditions can vary drastically from zip code to zip code, neighborhood to neighborhood, and can change at a moments notice.

Foreclosures and short sales – or the removal of distressed inventory all impact what’s actually happening.

Estimates that are placed on listings that already have an established sale price not only create a recipe for inaccurate information, they also create a strain on real sellers and a strain on the agents who work hard to create CMAs and pricing strategies based on what’s actually happening.

Sellers deserve better than that. Buyers deserve better than that.

Lost in the machinations and histrionics that permeate the discussion about listings and accurate data is the one thing that should be crystal clear:

Real Estate is NOT a game.

It’s a serious business with significant financial and emotional ramifications for the parties involved in every transaction.

And at REALTOR.com®, we have a responsibility to provide accurate information and accurate representations of what’s actually happening in the market – so consumers get the REAL story about what’s happening in their market.

And we do this by displaying real prices from real professionals in every market we serve.

That’s the thing that can really help consumers get a flavor of what’s happening locally, and that’s what we deliver.

Buyers get the best price within the first two weeks on the market...

We’ve been the Darien real estate doldrums since 2006 and I can tell you categorically that if you over price your home,NOTHING happens. Believe me, there are buyers out there, in local rentals, in cramped apartments in NYC, in houses from which they wish to trade up or down. And they are smart. If not, they have agents who are smart about local market conditions etc.

Most homes get their highest offers within two weeks of being on the market. If you overprice, your home will languish and in the end you’ll wind up with a lower price. It’s a fact. When the market was dropping like a stone,I watched multi million dollar homeowners “chase ” the market down by refusing to accept reality Prices have stabilized now but its very much a buyers market .

Follow the advice of your agent and price according to comparables that have sold in the past 6-9 months. If your home,fails to attract lookers or you have had no offers in two to three weeks….REDUCE.

If you’d like a price opinion on your home,I’d be happy to provide one. There is no magic to it and I’d be happy to sit side by side with you and show you how it’s done. Give me a call at 203-554-0951.

Sometimes however,having an inspection ahead of time can save you big bucks. I recently heard a story of  homeowners who had their home on the market for over 9 months without so much as a nibble and were ecstatic that they were finally going to make the sale.During the routine inspection, the inspector told the buyers that the furnace was very old and probably wouldn’t last more than a year or so. The prospective buyers demanded a new furnace or they would ‘walk’ away from the deal. The homeowners  didn’t want the hassle of installing a new system but were afraid of losing their one and only buyer.

SO they decided to offer the buyers a credit on the price of the house instead.

As far as I know the old furnace in that house is still chugging along and the money was never spent on a new system. That was a costly mistake for the homeowner and a windfall for the savvy buyer.

Get an inspection ahead of time,know what the problems are are deal with them ahead of time…not while you’re under the gun.

As a result there were no accepted offers last week which begs the question if people are just “tire kicking” or intend to buy.

As to pricing, the majority of sellers seem to have come to grips with reality but some,particularly at the high end of the market are still ratcheting down their expectations the hard way,one price cut at a time.

The numbers themselves for the month of February were down from last year and I’ll post those separately. The next five months are classically the busiest and therefore most important so- we shall see…..Speaking of seeing,if you wish to view Darien properties I can be reached at 203-554-0951.

<a href=”http://www.atlasvanlines.com/infographics/2011-migration-patterns/“> <img src=”http://www.atlasvanlines.com/infographics/2011-migration-patterns/2011-migration-patterns-410.jpg” width=”410″ alt=”2011 Migration Patterns”></a><br /><a href=”Atlas”>http://www.atlasvanlines.com/”>Atlas Van Lines</a>

 According to the new census, a full 23% of Darien,Ct’s residents are under the age of 18…this is the highest in the state. Come on up. Plenty of people to play with.