The Spring Market Has Already Arrived in Fairfield County CT

The Spring Market is Here!

Real estate experts and economists agree that the real estate industry is gaining momentum.  If you were hoping to put your home on the market for the traditional Spring selling season, be advised that Spring has already sprung.  

Need proof?  Here are just a few of the latest headlines from some of the most respected news organizations:

• Home Selling Season isn't Waiting Until Spring this Year – L.A. Times, Jan. 20
• Housing Offers Hope of Strength in the Economy – New York Times, Jan. 24
• Housing Emerges as Economic Bright Spot After Years in the Dark – Washington Post, Jan. 28
• Home Prices Climb by Most in Six Years as U.S. Market Firms – Bloomberg, Jan. 29  

Essentially, low interest rates, rising rents, and a positive economic outlook are driving buyers who want to realize the dream of homeownership. With limited housing inventory, buyers are competing against one another for those properties that are priced well. The competition is resulting in bidding wars, which is driving up housing prices.  

The message is clear for sellers.  Right now is a prime opportunity to sell a home. Sellers need to ensure their property stands out from the competition with proper price positioning and home presentation.  If the home is priced right, and is in good condition, it will sell.  

Buyers shouldn’t sit on the fence either.  With a lack of inventory, competition for that perfectly priced dream home is becoming fierce.  Come prepared with solid financing, be ready to make a quick purchase decision, and be reasonable with your offer and expectations.  In some communities and price points, the buyer’s market has already tipped towards a seller’s market.  

As all real estate is local, what may be happening in some parts of the country may be different than what is taking place in Easton, Fairfield, Southport, Norwalk, Trumbull, Weston and Westport.

If you need help deciphering the market, please contact me and I will provide you with a competitive market analysis and review current market conditions with you.  I will use this information along with a review of current inventory, recent comparable sales prices and other data to advise you.  

In addition, I know which properties currently on the market will impact you, and can guide you on the optimal listing price to sell your home. If you are buying, I can help you decide an appropriate purchasing price so you can make the right offer on the right home for you.  

Changing seasons are inevitable, so take advantage of this season while it’s here. 

Buying or Selling a Home in Fairfield County?  Contact us!

If you have a question about buying or selling Real Estate in  Fairfield County, and are in need of representation, I invite you to contact me. I know the market like the back of my hand, know marketing inside and out, am a skilled negotiator- and I'd love to be on your side :) - Judy

Search for properties on any of our sites, or get the very best visibility available for your home. Visit us online wherever you like: Find out more about Judy here

www.CThomesAndRealEstate.com      www.TheCTrealtyBlog.com     www.TheCTRB.com    and   www.CTfeaturedHomes.com 

 Email us or  call Toll Free (855) GET-JUDY

The 3.8 Percent Medicare Tax Beginning 1/1/2013 is NOT on All Property Sales.

Despite what you may have read, this tax is NOT on all real estate sales. The criteria for the tax does not, or will not  affect every homeowner across the board.

First, this tax is not aimed at homebuyers. The new 3.8 percent "Medicare tax" is on unearned income, and translates to an additional tax for homesellers only , and  further,  only under the following circumstances:

The new tax applies only to:

• Single taxpayers with a modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) in excess of $200,000 ,and

• Married taxpayers with a MAGI in excess of $250,000 if filing a joint return, or $125,000 if filing a separate return.

These taxpayers  pay the tax on their gain from the sale of their primary residence, but only on the amount of gain that exceeds the  $250,000 thresholds  for single taxpayers, and  $500,000 for joint tax returns.  

The tax is equal to 3.8% of the lesser of the taxpayers’ “net investment income” or the amount by which their MAGI exceeds their respected  threshold. Note the following example, offered by Realtor.org-

"John and Mary sold their principal residence and realized a gain of $525,000.
Th ey have $325,000 Adjusted Gross Income (before adding taxable gain).
Th e tax applies as follows:
AGI Before Taxable Gain $325,000
Gain on Sale of Residence $525,000
Taxable Gain (Added to AGI) $25,000 ($525,000 – $500,000)
New AGI $350,000 ($325,000 + $25,000 taxable gain)
Excess of AGI over $250,000 $100,000 ($350,000 – $250,000)
Lesser Amount (Taxable) $25,000 (Taxable gain)
Tax Due $950 ($25,000 x 0.038)

If John and Mary had a gain of less than $500,000 on the sale of their residence,
none of that gain would be subject to the 3.8% tax. Whether they paid the 3.8% tax
would depend on the other components of their $325,000 AGI."

If you have any questions about this tax, and whether it applies to you, please consult your accountant.

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The Featured Home of the Week is at 125 Norton Road in Easton  for $1.4M. See the virtual tour HERE

Buying or Selling a Home in Fairfield County?  Contact us!

If you have a question about buying or selling Real Estate in  Fairfield County, and are in need of representation, I invite you to contact me. I know the market like the back of my hand, know marketing inside and out, am a skilled negotiator- and I'd love to be on your side :) - Judy

Search for properties on any of our sites, or get the very best visibility available for your home. Visit us online wherever you like:

www.CThomesAndRealEstate.com      www.TheCTrealtyBlog.com     www.TheCTRB.com    and   www.CTfeaturedHomes.com 

 Email us or  call Toll Free (855) GET-JUDY

Do You Agree With How Your Realtor is Marketing Your Home?

Okay, you did what you felt was your due diligence and conducted interviews with various agents before placing your home on the market. You opted to go with one agent that seemed to stand out to you for their marketing prowess.

And now, just a few weeks into the agreement, you wished you had asked other questions before deciding on who was going to represent your best interests in selling your home, and are not so sure anymore whether you chose the best agent for the job.

What are those would have, should have questions?

1. Do I get a copy of the listing agreement?
2. Will you run the proposed MLS remarks by me before the listing goes live?
3. Do I have the final say on what information goes into the MLS fact sheet?
4. Do I get to approve the marketing materials for my home before it goes "public"?
5. How many photos will you take of my home, and do I get final approval on them?
6. Will I get to approve the digital marketing for my home?
7. How often will you update me? Can that be made as part of the contract?
8. What online listing enhancements will you implement on my behalf, and on what sites?
9. Will my home have a virtual tour?
10. How will you utilize Facebook, Twitter, and other social media outlets to sell my home?
11. If I am unhappy with your services, will you cancel the contract?

I am convinced by looking at the overwhelming majority of listings that most homeowners have never even seen their property's information as it appears on the MLS- if they had, they would be furious.

It is your right as a home seller to see and approve the information that is disseminated to the masses to sell your home. At the end of the day, it is YOU that is responsible for any errors in your listing, and YOU become liable for any  misrepresentations about your home. YOU are the one that suffers, and that goes for mis-handled marketing as well.  So take control if you need to, but ask these very important questions BEFORE you sign a listing agreement with any agent.

If you want and need a listing agent who will do what SHOULD be expected of them, put it into writing as part of the contract, AND get your home sold, call me.

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The Featured Home of the Week is at 125 Norton Road in Easton  for $1.4M. See the virtual tour HERE

Buying or Selling a Home in Fairfield County?  Contact us!

If you have a question about buying or selling Real Estate in  Fairfield County, and are in need of representation, I invite you to contact me. I know the market like the back of my hand, know marketing inside and out, am a skilled negotiator- and I'd love to be on your side :) - Judy

Search for properties on any of our sites, or get the very best visibility available for your home. Visit us online wherever you like:

www.CThomesAndRealEstate.com      www.TheCTrealtyBlog.com     www.TheCTRB.com    and   www.CTfeaturedHomes.com 

 Email us or  call Toll Free (855) GET-JUDY

Are You Smelling Your Home, or Are You Selling it?

When you have been living in your home for as long as most people do before they put it on the market,  sometimes a homes odors can go unnoticed as you just may have become acclimated to them, however minimal they may be.

And no, not all homes have odors, but the ones that do tend to languish on the market, and tend to sell for less money, as the buyer (in his/her mind) is about to purchase something of an unknown entity- that is, whether or not the odor will go away, and how long will it take?

So paying attention to the "sense" in staging goes a long Way to sell your home. In other words, improving your home's "scents" is a  key element.

The two biggest offenders are pet smells and/or smoking odors, which can permeate the carpets, walls and furniture.

No one says that you have to break the bank to get your home ready for sale. One thing that you do have to realize is that those first impressions by the buyer's senses are simply HUGE, and will have a very strong determining factor in whether or not a prospective buyer will have interest in making your home theirs. And that's the point, right?

Sometimes, it's as little as ripping out a few carpets and painting the walls to give a home a fresh look... and a fresh smell. Check out this article on effective methods of handling odors in your home.

Rely on your professional  and experienced Fairfield County Connecticut Realtor (that's me) to let you know if it makes "sense" to be addressed.

Buying or Selling a Home in Fairfield County?  Contact us!

If you have a question about buying or selling Real Estate in  Fairfield County, and are in need of representation, I invite you to contact me. I know the market like the back of my hand, know marketing inside and out, am a skilled negotiator- and I'd love to be on your side :) - Judy

Search for properties on any of our sites, or get the very best visibility available for your home. Visit us online wherever you like:

www.CThomesAndRealEstate.com      www.TheCTrealtyBlog.com     www.TheCTRB.com    and   www.CTfeaturedHomes.com 

 Email us or  call Toll Free (855) GET-JUDY

Living in Fairfield County CT- Otherwise Known as Beverly Hills East

All you have to do is mention that you live in Fairfield County Connecticut to most anyone in the country, and they have probably heard of it- they may even recognize a few towns here, too- and that kind of notoriety can only come with what all Fairfield County residents know, but may not be able to explain very quickly. It's just that certain "je ne sais quoi" that maybe comes from having a consistently fine reputation for its wealth, property values, the public school systems, and its close proximity to New York City.

While you can do some searching online and find out information about the individual towns in the county, it's not that easy to get an  overview of the County itself, which we have found quite interesting, and have put together some information for you  in order to fill that void.

A little demographics and history:

Fairfield County is located at the southwestern part of the state of Connecticut,  and one of eight counties with a land area of approximately 626 square miles, Although it is the most populous county in Connecticut, it is fourth in the size of its land mass. (Litchfield is the largest county, and Middlesex is the smallest)   There is roughly about 211 square miles of water area within the county which does not include Long Island Sound. Cost of living index is at 142.8 as of January 2011.

One of the original four counties settled  during colonial times in 1666, Fairfield County is the wealthiest county in Connecticut and sometimes referred to as "Beverly Hills East" or "The Gold Coast". While Connecticut still refers to counties, there is no countywide government. Each municipality manages itself. In 1960, the state abolished county government, and  it is used mostly now for geographical reasons, with the exception of the organization of its judicial and state marshal systems.

This southwestern portion of Connecticut is comprised of  twenty three towns, which include Bethel, Bridgeport, Brookfield, Danbury, Easton, Fairfield, Greenwich, Monroe, New Canaan, New Fairfield, Newtown, Norwalk, Redding, Ridgefield, Shelton, Sherman, Stratford, Trumbull, Weston, Westport and Wilton. Check out each town's Facebook Fan Pages, too. We have a dedicated page  For our Facebook Town connections with links to all the towns that we service.

There are so many great places to explore in Fairfield County, they would be too numerous to list. A few highlights include the Norwalk Maritime Aquarium and IMAX Theater, The PT Barnum Museum. The Beardsley Zoo and The Arena at Harbor Yard located- the latter all located in Bridgeport,  The Audubon Centers in Greenwich and Fairfield are popular, and there area as many historical sites as you could possibly imagine. VisitFairfieldCountyCT.com has a comprehensive list of attractions broken down by Art & Antiques, Points of Interest, Recreation & Activities,  Shopping, Touring by Car, Foot, Boat & Bike, Vineyards and Farms.

So where to buy your next home?  Get a feel for the majority of  Fairfield County towns right here on our website. Just click the town of your choice that is listed above to get interesting history, facts and demographics about each town, and even search the MLS for your dream home- right on the town's respective page. When you are ready to buy or sell your home in Fairfield County Connecticut, just contact us and we'll get you the very best deal possible!  It's what we do best.

Buying or Selling a Home in Fairfield County? We'd be honored to represent you.

Feel free to email us here or visit our main  site at

www.CThomesAndRealEstate.com

If you have a question about buying or selling Real Estate in  Fairfield County, and are in need of representation, I invite you to contact me. I know the market like the back of my hand, know marketing inside and out, am a skilled negotiator- and I'd love to be on your side :) - Judy