A Tale of Four Towns (Darien, New Canaan, Wilton and Westport Q1 Report)

By John Engel

Closed Sales

New Canaan had 32, up from 31 while Darien had 22 down from 32 a year ago.

Wilton had 42 sales, up 55% from a year ago while Westport had 45, down -15% from 53 a year ago.

New Canaan sales were flat despite lower inventory. Count that a victory. Is Wilton the only positive trend?  No, the gain in sales was offset by a decline in pending sales.  

Westport is showing signs of life as pending sales there are up 19.7% (12 homes) but one quarter does not make a trend. 

New Listings

New Canaan had 59, down from 80 last year while Darien had 33, down from 48 a year ago.

Westport had 112, up from 97 a year ago while Wilton had 54, down from 59 a year ago.

Westport is the only market to see substantially more new listings and while it did not translate to more sales it did result in a 20% bump in pending sales. 

Median and Average Sale Price

Darien median & average sale price is $1.845/$2.319 million, up 25.3% and 30.9%

New Canaan median & average sale price is $2.161/$2.426 million, up 27.5% and 16.5%

Westport median & average sale price is $1.85 & $2.473 million, up 13.8% and 14% 

Wilton median & average sale price is $915,000 & $1.093 million, down -5.2% and -2.0%

Wilton is the only market to see declines in median & average price, but they are very slight.

In all four towns prices have climbed fairly steadily since Fall 2019. The greatest percentage increase was Westport, followed by New Canaan, then Darien, then Wilton.

Percent of List Price Received

New Canaan is averaging 98.2% and its down -1.2% from a year ago.

Darien is getting 105.8% of asking price and that’s up 4.4% over a year ago.

Westport is getting 100.9% of list price and that’s up 1.5% over a year ago.

Wilton is getting 104.2% of list price and that’s .6% higher than a year ago. 

Bidding wars are still occurring, particularly at the lower, more affordable price points.

Townhouse/Condo Sales

Darien only had 4 new listings and 3 closed while median & average is $820,000 & $835,000

New Canaan had 15 new listings and 9 closed. Median & average is $1.27 & $1.31 million.

Westport had 10 new listings and 9 closed. Median & average is $1.495 & $1.448 million.

Wilton had 5 new listings and 3 closed. Median & average is $531,000 and $750,333.

Inventory 

New Canaan has 45 homes and 14 condos for sale, down from 68 homes and 33 condos.

Darien has 30 homes and 1 condo for sale, down from 48 homes and 2 condos.

Westport has 63 homes and 14 condos for sale, down from 88 homes and 30 condos.

Wilton has 33 homes and 1 condo for sale, down from 40 homes and 3 condos.

That’s 1.7 months of home inventory in New Canaan and 1 month of inventory in Darien.

Its better in Westport, 2.3 months of inventory, and Wilton, 2.0 months but worse in every market than a year ago.

Notes from the Monday Meeting

A buyer asked why so many homes have radon mitigation systems. Part of the reason has to do with our basements. As prices rise and every square foot becomes more precious basements are being renovated as premium space and now air-conditioned. As a result, we are testing more basements, and installing radon fans with chimneys to evacuate stale air. Scott Hobbs has another theory. He says that as insulation has improved, houses have become very tight and very efficient. When we don’t have a way to bring in fresh air to a tight house air-quality decreases. It has become necessary to add fresh-air exchangers to our HVAC systems. Bringing in winter air and warming it up is not enough so this often includes humidifiers since winter air is typically very dry, sometimes 20% humidity. 

What’s with the demand for ranch-style houses? More and more we see a preference for single-floor living. There aren’t that many but they are in high-demand as a downsizing option.  In New Canaan over the last year there have only been 13 sales of ranch-style homes. They range from $799,000 to $2.628 million, averaging $1.41 million, 102% of list, and 2,533 feet at $564 per foot.  Contrast that to the 197 non-ranch sales which sell on average for $2,361,910 and 4,371 feet at $560 per foot, 99% of list. According to a new chart by Apollo’s Chief Economist Thorston Slok homes in the U.S. have been getting about 10% smaller since peaking in 2015 at 2,500 feet, now 2,225 feet, typical for a New Canaan ranch.

Silvermine

Why is everybody talking about the Silvermine neighborhood? Is it because of Grey Barns or Silvermine Arts? I decided to look up the last year of closed sales. Of 29 sales in Silvermine of single family homes 19 were in Norwalk and 10 in New Canaan. The Norwalk sales ranged from $520,00 to $2.62 million, averaging $1.034 million, 107% of list price for a 2,913 foot house on .84 acres and only $367 per foot. In New Canaan’s Silvermine they range from $1.150 to $3.23 million, averaging $2.139 million, 100% of list for a 4,464 foot house on 1.98 acres and $511 per foot. It’s the Norwalk side of the line I am interested in, as an increasing number of New Canaan buyers are asking if there is anything available on the Norwalk side of the line. This is a response to low inventory everywhere. People are widening their searches. Something to watch.

 John Engel is a real estate broker with the Engel Team at Douglas Elliman in New Canaan. On Thursday Richard Stewart addressed the Rotary Club at Waveny about New Canaan in the 1950’s. On Wednesday Broadway stars sang and authors spoke at the VOICES OF RESILIENCE luncheon. Tonight is the Grainger Society opening at the Glass House’s Brick House, and next week is the much awaited Gridiron Club roasting of Tom Stadler. Oh, and John Armstrong is playing somewhere. It must be Spring in New Canaan.

Submit questions and comments to John.Engel@Elliman.com