Wilton single-family home sales are a mixed bag: the days on market are down nearly 23%, new listings are down nearly 19%, but unit sales also are down by 24%.
Sales in Fairfield County continue to be sluggish, reflecting the national trend valuing smaller homes requiring less maintenance and a premium placed upon location closer to amenities.
Given the new tax laws regarding deductibility of property taxes, it’s not surprising to see somewhat of an inverse relationship between the mill rate and home sales in towns, as a town’s lower mill rate means higher unit sales. We’re especially seeing this in Greenwich, where the mill rate and corresponding taxes are generally lower than neighboring Westchester County towns.
However, bucking this theory is the fact that unit sales actually are up in Norwalk and Fairfield, with median sales prices of $497,500 and $577,500 respectively). These towns have a mill rate closer to Wilton’s but the median price is lower. Homes in Norwalk and Fairfield also tend to have smaller lot sizes and be more closely located to services, shopping and beaches.
I’ve put together a chart comparing neighboring towns’ mill rates and unit sales.
Here are some Wilton details for April 2018 over April 2017:
Sales
There were 16 unit sales in April. This is down 23.8% from 21 in April of 2017. The sales/list price ratio was 96% in April, the same as March. Price per square foot in April was $210, down 16% from $249 in April 2017.
Prices
The median price in April was $747,500, down 0.3% from $750,000 in April 2017. The three-month median price of $740,000 in April was down marginally from $745,000 in March and down a little from $747,500 in April 2017. The price per square foot in April was $210. This is up from $207 in March but down from $249 in April 2017.
Market Time
The number of days on market of 140 in April was way up from 101 in March but down considerably from 181 in April 2017.
Changes Favoring Buyers and Sellers
Lisa Bender is a realtor with the Wilton office of William Raveis and a regular contributor to GOOD Morning Wilton. She writes about the Wilton real estate market. She can be reached at 203.246.6986 or via email.