What drives Real Estate Values in Fairfield County?
There are two main drivers for Real Estate value in our area. The first is proximity to New York City. Not everyone commutes to NY but everyone competes against commuters for homes. Homes that are closer to NY are worth more in the Market. This is one of the reasons average property values decline (or become more affordable) as you travel up the coast - Greenwich to Darien to Westport to Fairfield. For the most part, Fairfield is the last commuter town. It is not that no one will commute from further out just that most commuters value living in Fairfield or nearer to NY. For a commuter who makes the trek by Metro North every day, minutes count. A home buyer will often measure the trip from a potential new home to the train station and the minute count better be in single digits.
The second driver is the local educational system. School system information is one of the most requested pieces of information for people moving from out of the area to Fairfield. The reputation and high quality of the Fairfield School system boosts property values for all homes whether the owners have kids or not. Fairfield has a reputation of being a family friendly town and a very kid friendly place to grow up.
The quality of Fairfield's Schools have given our homeowners an excellent appreciation rate over the years. In 1995, there were 669 Single Family homes sold in Fairfield according to the local Multiple Listing Service at an Average Sale Price of $338,110. In 2000, there were 795 SF homes sold at an Average Sale Price of $491,354. This represents an increase in value of 45%. In 2005, there were 837 SF Homes sold at an Average Sale Price of $781,305. This is a jump in value of 59%. This is a huge growth in home value and homeowner equity in a five year period. Over ten years, this shows we experienced a 131% jump in Average Sale Price.
So for the person who purchased a home for $491,354 in 2000, they saw an increase in equity of $289,951. This average increase in equity easily out distances the increase in the average tax bill over that same time span. This all goes to make Fairfield a great investment and a great value.
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