Rich New Yorkers fleeing the pandemic have triggered a real estate boom in Connecticut with a spike in sales of lavish single-family homes
There's been an influx in sales in wealthy areas including Westport, Greenwich, Litchfield County and New Haven
One real estate agent reported selling a home in Wilton for $1.9million
New Yorkers have been leaving the Big Apple in droves as there are over 352,000 cases of COVID-19 and nearly 23,000 deaths in the state
Connecticut has significantly lower numbers - over 38,000 cases, 3,400 deaths
New York saw its housing market slump by 45.8% in April compared to last year
A 'tidal wave' of wealthy New Yorkers fleeing the Big Apple and scooping up properties in Connecticut has triggered an unexpected boom in the state's real estate market.
There's been an influx of sales of expensive single-family homes in Westport, Greenwich, Litchfield County and east of New Haven among upper-tier income clients, some selling for millions, real estate agents reported over the past month.
Holly Giordano, an agent for William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty said sellers have been getting their asking price from desperate out-of-towners caught up in a bidding war, according to the Stamford Advocate.
She said one property in Wilton sold for $1.9million in an all-cash deal.
Since the start of the outbreak, elite New Yorkers have left the city in droves, as the state reports 352,000 cases of the virus and nearly 23,000 deaths, in seek of refuge in calmer states like Connecticut where 38,400 infections and 3,400 fatalities have been recorded.
A 'tidal wave' of wealthy New Yorkers fleeing the Big Apple and scooping up properties in Connecticut has triggered an unexpected boom in the state's real estate market. A view of luxury waterfront homes in Stony Creek, Connecticut above
There's been an influx of sales of expensive single-family homes in Westport, Greenwich, Litchfield County and east of New Haven among upper-tier income clients, some selling for millions, real estate agents reported over the past month
'What I’ve seen more of is all my city clients are looking in Weston, Wilton, Ridgefield, Easton — areas that normally wouldn’t be someone’s go-to because of the train aspect … but when you are coming from the city, they feel very far,' Giordano said.
'There was such an initial rush on all the rentals, that there’s hardly any left. … We’ve always benefited from the New York City market, but it’s just been a tidal wave,' she added.
'I think there’s going to be a trend of people renting and then buying second homes,' Candace Adams, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services New England Properties said.
'I don’t know that they necessarily want to stay outside of the city – they just want to have an option to go someplace else.'
One homeowner in Westport received five offers in a day from affluent New Yorkers.
'One … called me up and said, "Do you know of anything else?" She lives in a beautiful, 10-story coop on Park Avenue in New York, but every time [she] gets in the elevator … she is afraid,' Mark Pruner, an agent for Berkshire Hathaway Home Services New England Properties, said.
Overall two real estate agencies in Connecticut recorded a slump in sales in April that picked up again in May. Now both firms expect a strong summer market that could last through slower autumn and winter months. Luxury waterfront New England style homes pictured in Stonington, Connecticut
April home sales were down five percent and seven percent in Fairfield County, according to estimates by William Pitt Sotheby’s and Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England Properties.
Sales were down 19 percent in Litchfield County and New Haven County alone, as per Berkshire Hathaway.
The those trends started to change in May, as both firms now expect a strong summer market that could last through the traditionally slower autumn and winter seasons.
Steven Magnuson, a Douglas Elliman broker in Greenwich, Connecticut, recently rented a modern, five-bedroom home with an infinity pool for $55,000 a month, setting a record for the town, according to CNBC.
When the house was available again the owner raised the rent to $65,000 and even with the spike there was a waiting list of 18 people for it.
'It seems like everyone wants to leave the city. Our problem is not enough inventory for sale. We’ve been on the phone 24/7 and on email,' he said.
On top of the spike in sales in Connecticut, some experts say real estate sales in New York City are plummeting as people flee the coronavirus pandemic, which has the most cases recorded in the concrete jungle.
'I was looking at stats in New York City ... and found it very interesting that studio- and one-bedroom apartments were flying off the market. People are renting smaller places there — and then they’re buying out here,' Adams said.
New Yorkers have been leaving the Big Apple in droves as there are over 352,000 cases of COVID-19 and nearly 23,000 deaths. Connecticut has significantly lower numbers - over 38,000 cases, 3,400 deaths. Arlington County employees pictured at a drive-thru mask donation sight to collect unused and unopened PPE
New York’s real estate market has seen a significant slow down due to the coronavirus as the rich flee the city, brokers see less clients and switch to virtual showings, and the prices Manhattan’s property prices slump about 20 percent from the 2016 peak in luxury condos, as per the New York Times.
From March 22, when the stay-at-home order took effect, to April 29, there were 643 contracts signed in Manhattan - less than half signed during the same period last year, according to GS Data Services, a real estate data firm.
The median sale price of $1.025 million, which is a six percent drop from the same time last spring.
In Brooklyn, where the median sale price was $900,000 from March 22 to April 29, signings were down 65 percent from the same time period last year.
There has also been a concerning drop in volume of properties put up for rent and sale.
In the week ending in April 26 there were just 59 new listings posted in Manhattan, including resales and new development – an 88 percent decline from the 519 listings added the Same week last year, as per real estate data site Urban Digs.
'The drop in deal volume is staggering and unprecedented for the industry,' said Garrett Derderian, the chief executive of GS Data Services.
Overall New York saw a massive decline in 45.8 percent of home sales in April compared to a year ago, according to a Redfin report.
Connecticut's Governor Ned Lamont included the real estate industry under 'essential' businesses in his March executive orders, allowing for appraisals, inspections, listings, open houses, and closings to continue through the pandemic, which contribute to why the market is doing so well.
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