Karen Brewer

Want to Sell Your House?Five Questions to Ask Yourself.Darien Homes for Sale.

The advice from Tara Nelson of Trulia is seemingly simple. But you’d be amazed how many  Darien homeowners are stuck on,  “but we need to get x dollars” What you think you need to get for your home and what the market will bear are distinctly different.The advice below is good although it may be a bitter pill indeed.

        LOWER YOUR ASKING PRICE IF YOU EXPERIENCE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING:                        

•  Do multiple listing agents have recommended listing the home at a lower price.
•  Does feedback from the buyers’ agents suggests the home is overpriced.
• Is the home getting any showings, even though it’s marketed well.
•  Has the home has sat on the market far longer than other homes in the area.
• Have there been multiple offers, but they’ve all been significantly under the list price.

Contentment Island,Darien CT,Darien Homes for Sale

As a Realtor in Darien,CT I see homes of all shapes and sizes.From small cottages to waterfront estates, there is something for everyone.Every so often a property distinguishes itself as totally unique and one of a kind. The attached video is one such property. Take a look. Call me if you wish to visit this spectacular waterfront property.

http://lxtv.com/openhousenyc/video/10829

No Matter Where You Are,Lock Your Car,Darien Homes in the News

Alas -any balanced blog about Darien and vicinity has to include some mention of crime. In my 25 years here, there have been occasional burglaries,telephone or door to door scams and lots of reports of various DUI arrests that appear in the weekly Police Blotter.

The crime of the month appears to be a series of unlocked car break ins where apparently there is little if anything taken from the vehicles.Curious but true. If you’re interested in knowing more click here for a link to this weeks Darien Times. Oh and no matter where you are, lock your car!

Darien and Fairfield County Home Rentals,A Tight Market

This weeks New York Times, Real Estate section ran an accurate article about  home rental conditions in Darien,CT and surrounding towns.They include  the  rentals at Yale and Towne in Stamford which I wrote a post about a few weeks ago. The market for Fairfield County rentals is tight and anyone looking would be well served by reading the article.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/realestate/22wczo.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=in%20the%20region%20connecticut&st=cse

Honey, I Think I’m a “House Whisperer,”Darien Homes for Sale.

I was asked just last night by a friend, “what was the weirdest thing that has ever happened to you as a Darien Realtor?” There was the case of the disappearing Darien homebuyer.He vanished after negotiating a deal on a $2million house and was never heard from again. Then there was the 10 year old child who was apparently in charge of the buying process and his parents would not consider a house unless he liked it.

But then I remembered a story from when I had just begun in the business. I had a client who wanted an antique property and was willing to look in various towns. in Fairfield County.We wound up in Wilton CT at an old but lovely property from  the late 1800′s. It had original floorboards,fireplaces and the location she was looking for. Read the rest of this entry »

Rental Potential, Darien Real Estate

For one reason or another the rental market in Fairfield County is on fire. No sooner do homes for rent come on the market as they seem to disappear.Its not uncommon for a rental to be listed and leased in one day. During the dog days of August, I think people are looking last minute to get their children in school or have given up for the year on finding their dream home.

Whatever the case, it takes a good Realtor to figure out where dormant rentals may be. A current client has just recently sold their home and (yes I sold it for them) and needed a rental as soon as possible.We saw just about everything on the market in their price range and came up empty.With the clock ticking I decided to use my access to the Fairfield County Multiple Listing Service to look up homes and condos that had been on the market over 120 days to see if those homeowners would be willing to rent.

As a Realtor I have homeowner and listing broker information for all listings in Darienand surrounding towns,something the average renter or home buyer does not.(in spite of the Internet age).I called about a dozen of them to see if they were willing to rent for a year and voila, I got a couple of new properties to show that previously had only been on the market for sale.

I found the rental for my client literally by looking in places they dont exist.Similarly Realtors have knowledge of listings that are yet to come on the market and may be just what you are looking for. The moral of the story”Sometimes you have to dig to find what you’re looking for.”

Still think you dont need a Realtor?  The Internet can’t do it all.Call me if you need help.203-554-0951

So How’s the Market? Darien Homes for Sale….

Sometimes I feel like people don’t see me anymore…they just see a Darien Realtor.Invariably, shortly after hello, I find myself answering the question…”So hows the market?” Its natural of course, especially given the volatility of the market in recent years and peoples never ending fascination with real estate. Lets face it there are entire cable television channels devoted to the subject. So anyway…..HOW IS THE DARIEN REAL ESTATE MARKET? In a word, at the moment it’s on vacation.The dog days of August are here are most people in Darien have up and left town for a week or two.There are still buyers out there but its no stampede and  new listings have reduced to a trickle.

Nevertheless we can look in the rearview mirror and draw some general conclusions. The Darien real estate market has in some ways bounced back and in others remains sort of depressed.Number of homes sold at the end of June versus 2009 was up 63%. Average sale price was up over $1.6million up over 21% from the previous year.

On the other hand,homes are taking longer to sell. The days on market this year was 165 versus the 118 days needed to sell in 2009.Anecdotally however, if you priced your home to reflect the 2009 downturn you are able to shorten this average time considerably.I’ve opined on this subject endlessly in other posts.

Generally prices remain at 2009 levels and we are not expecting any bounce in that department any time soon.

All that said,interest rates remain ridiculously low as do prices making this a great time to buy especially if you plan to stay in the home for several years.

Darien Real Estate and Homes for Sale,Market Report Aug 5,2010

When is an Asking Price Not What it Seems?…Darien Homes for Sale

Well,when the seller has instructed the agent to remove the house from the market and re-list it with a new, reduced,asking price. The theory here is that new potential, homebuyers will perceive the home as new on the market when really it may have been listed for quite awhile.Second,the new listing will not indicate that the house was listed before at a higher price.Therefore potential buyers will not know how much the house has been reduced. You see deeply discounted homes give the impression that the house is somehow undesirable or that the seller is desperate….so…new listing….new asking price equals clean slate.                                                                                                                                                                                       

Dishonest? Not really.Misleading- certainly.

I’m of course a big proponent of  shopping for a home on the Internet but here’s an example of information only a qualified,experienced and locally knowledgeable agent will know.  You cant usually find property listing history on the Web unless you have access to a local MLS system.

Make sure you have  a good agent before dipping your toe in the real estate water.

Home Buying in Darien CT and Closing Costs…What You Should Know

There is SOOO much stuff on the Internet about real estate and the home buying process.I happend to watch this video on AOL about closing costs and found it very informative.It doesnt matter if youre buying here in Darien, its just good,basic stuff.

http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/06/17/closing-costs-no-surprises/