Greenwich CT Market Update

We continued to see better than expected numbers through the first of the year.   The buyer activity level is high.  Agents are busy showing properties and we are slowly seeing contracts reported.     In the month of January we saw 14 single family contracts signed.  So far this month, we have already seen 15 contracts signed.  This should result in continued higher sales numbers in the first quarter.

Our year to date numbers are going to look good this year as 2009 numbers were the worst on record in Greenwich real estate history. 

The average days on the market for homes that have sold so far this year is down to 186 from 288 last year.   This indicates that sellers are becoming more aware of the importance of pricing appropriately.  No longer are the days of testing the market.  The sellers who are pricing correctly from the beginning or adjusting quickly are the ones who are securing the contracts.

The list price to sold price ratio is 92% for homes that have sold this year.   Up 2% from last month.

The inventory is up about 24% from last January.  This could indicate sellers are hopeful that the market is changing and are willing to put their homes back on the market. 

The Absorption rate is at 1.5 years.  It will take more than approximately 1.5 years to sell the homes on the market at the current rate of absorption.   Greenwich typically runs 5 months or less.  This is down considerably from last year's high.

The highest percentages of homes sold year to date were in the 1 million to 1.5 million price ranges (27%).  This is price point is down from years past.  Typically the 2-3 million range sees the highest percentages of homes selling.  

We currently have 591 Single Family homes on the market for sale.

January numbers were as follows:

Sales up dramatically 560% from last January and 9.5% from January 2008

Inventory up 24% from last January

Average Price Down 31% from last January

Sales Volume up 354% from last January.

 At the end of January 33 single family homes sold (year to date) compared to 5 in 09 and 36 in 08. 

Contracts are slowly coming in and this should result in better sales numbers for February and March. 

Many sellers have recently reduced their price and new listings are coming on priced to reflect the economic realities of today.  Some sellers got tired of waiting the market out or worse yet were forced to sell and we are seeing more and more price reductions as a result.   

 The market clearly shows the homes that sold and are under contract are homes where buyers feel they are "getting a deal".

 Many homes are selling below town assessed prices that are 70% of market value, based upon the 2005 evaluation.  Some believe we are back to 2001 pricing.