SHARE

Late Flurry Of Sales Pushes Up Fairfield Real Estate Market In 2nd Quarter

FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- A late flurry of activity helped push sales and pricing upward in the second quarter in the Fairfield real estate market.

Closed sales of single family homes was six percent higher in Fairfield for the second quarter compared to the same time frame in 2013.

Closed sales of single family homes was six percent higher in Fairfield for the second quarter compared to the same time frame in 2013.

Photo Credit: Daily Voice File Photo

For the second quarter, closed sales of single-family homes was 6 percent higher than in the second quarter of 2013, according to the quarterly report from William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty.

The median single-family home price rose 13 percent from the second quarter of last year, according to the report. The complete report from William Pitt Sotheby's International Realty is online.

“We had a dismal first quarter, and I was really concerned,’’ said Brad Kimmelman, brokerage manager of William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty in Southport. “But if we continue the type of activity we had in the second quarter, we’ll have a very good year.”

Fairfield fared better than most other area towns during the second quarter. For Fairfield County, closed sales were down 8 percent compared with the second quarter last year and closed dollar volume was also down 6 percent. Home sales are up 8 percent for the first half of 2014, which is 14 percent better than the county average.

“There was a lot of pent-up demand and people started buying last year,’’ said Rick Higgins, chairman and founder of the Higgins Group. “This year was a crazy winter. We couldn’t build up momentum. We had our 20 minutes of spring and then went into summer, and we had buyers. Now we’re in your typical summer market, and it’s kind of slow. It’s been a very unusual year.”

One of the most significant trends in Fairfield was the movement on the high-end homes.

“We’ve sold more multimillion-dollar properties in the first half of this year than we did all of last year,’’ Kimmelman said. “I think that’s a good sign. Those buyers are comfortable the market is in recovery and comfortable that values are not going to plummet. They are feeling more secure.”

Although there may be cool and hot pockets of activity during the year, Fairfield real estate seems to have settled into a period of stability, experts said.

“People are a little cautious, but there are a lot of good deals out there,’’ Higgins said. “There is no trend that prices are going down. Everything has pretty much stabilized.”

to follow Daily Voice Fairfield and receive free news updates.

SCROLL TO NEXT ARTICLE