Sad news today that Stamford has decided to cancel its 4th of July Fireworks show. The annual fireworks show in Cummings Park has not been canceled in over 50 years. While the show only costs roughly $40,000, the total cost to the city is much higher when you account for police, fire, and sanitation overtime costs.

I am actually glad to see that the new mayor is able to make some of these unpopular decisions and slash spending versus just raising our taxes. He has also made other recent cuts in the budget by proposing a 10% decrease in the city’s workforce.

A quick look at the possible effect of this past week’s storm on overall sales.
3/1/09 – 3/23/09 Single Family Sales = 18
3/1/10 – 3/23/10 Single Family Sales = 5

I recently drove by an active listing at 291 Chestnut Hill Road and they certainly had quite a bit of property damage. A large tree from the edge of the street fell across their yard and landed feet from the house. Luckily it appeared the house came away unscathed.

Anyone else know of any active listings which sustained damage?

With over 50% of Stamford without power for the past several days, what kind of effect will it have on March sales? The town has been virtually shut down in some areas and schools will be closed tomorrow for the third day in a row. I personally have been without power or water since Saturday. North Stamford appears to be the worst hit along with the neighboring towns of Greenwich and New Canaan.

I will take a look at the MLS over the next several days to try to gauge the impact the storm has had on local sales. Many homes on the market will have major clean up before they can be shown again.

Anyone familiar with a home which received structural damage?

[More to come once I get my electricity back!]

This formal rental property is now for sale at $459,000.

Dunn Avenue is right off of High Ridge Road, not too far from the Merritt Parkway. Nice location if you want to be close to High Ridge shopping area and entrance to Merritt.

According to the MLS, the house was last rented in 2007 for $2400 a month, although now rents for $2100 a month.  A 30 year $469,000 mortgage with 20% down, plus property tax comes out to be approximately $2400 at 5.25%.

Stats:
3 Bedrooms
1 Bath
Built in 1950
1508 Sq Foot ($304 a sq foot)
1 Car Garage

More photos and information can be found by clicking here.

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You hear a lot of people say that homes in Stamford are selling at prices seen in 2003. That fact is pretty incredible (and sad) when you start to think about it. After all, someone’s home is often their largest investment and a zero percent return on in investment made in 2003 is astonishing. Although, investing in the stock market in 2003 was no better, the Dow just recently broke through 2003 levels after a sharp drop.

So is it a myth that homes are selling at 2003 prices?  I pulled data outlining the median home price for a single family home in Stamford over the past 9 years.  Sure enough the median home price in 2009 was just about where it was in 2003.

Median Single Family Home Price

I had been skeptical since my assumption was that million dollar plus homes were not moving, thus causing the median price to drop while homes priced under $1,00,000 were maybe at 2005/06 levels. For some further confirmation, I also took a look at seven recently sold homes which had also sold in the previous 8 years. This is not an exact science, since a lot about a home can change in 8 years, but it gives you an idea of where your home may be valued if you purchased it within the past couple of years. It could also be used as a negotiating tool for buyers looking to spot a deal.

Recently Sold Price and Previous Sale Prices

2251 was just listed as sold on 2/17/10. The house sold for $390,000. Original list price? $610,000 in July of 2008!

In terms of Single Family and Condo closings  in 2010, we have so far seen an increase in Stamford versus 2009.

Closings from Jan 1 to Feb 22:

2009 = 55 (Median Sale Price = $400,000)

2010 = 87 (Median Sale Price = $401,000)

Interestingly the gap between list price and sale price has also been getting narrower in 2010. Perhaps sellers are more willing to list their homes aggressively…

Stamford’s most recent home sold is 24 Akbar Road after being on the market for 68 days. Originally listed at $649,000, the 1628 Sq foot home sold for $620,000. That means it sold for $380 a square foot! Not a bad deal for the seller…

Assessment = $480,810
3 Bedrooms
2 Full Baths
Built in 1965
1 Acre

The house last sold in January of 2006 for $557,628 (according to tax records).

William Tong, one of Stamford’s State Representatives, recently provided some useful information for those homes in North Stamford looking to have their water tested. As you may know, the City recently decided to stop covering the costs of testing homes near the Scofieldtown dump, leaving homeowners with the responsibility. So for those of you looking to have your home tested (or testing the water for a customer), here is what William Tong had to say:

The city of Stamford has determined that it will not extend testing to homes that have not already been tested.  However, the city did negotiate with a local water testing company to provide testing for all Stamford residents with wells at a discounted price.  The company is Environmental Analysis Corporation, which is based in New Canaan.  The contact is John Vorhiees, and his telephone number is (203) 966-5144.   I have had my water tested by Mr. Vorhiees, and I waiting for my results.  Here’s a breakdown of what the testing entails:

505 TEST ($250). The test is designed to detect the presence of certain pesticides, including Dieldrin and Chlordane, and it is known to be a very sensitive test.

METALS ($100). This test is designed to detect the presence of certain metals, including uranium, lead, cadmium, arsenic, and mercury.

524.2 TEST ($100). This test is designed to detect the presence of volatile organic compounds, and is generally associated with testing for common residential contaminants.

I am continuing to push the Governor to release state bond funding to address the problem.  Needless to say, this is an urgent matter and I hope that the Governor hears out concerns.

I appreciate William Tong’s continued efforts in helping the residents of North Stamford. Thankfully the city has recently approved funding to have UCONN conduct research to further evaluate the situation. You can read more about the plan here.

What exactly is going on at the entrance of Konandreas Drive? They turned their once nice wrought iron gate entrance into strange display of statues. They have a huge eagle and statue of liberty on one side and then another eagle and female figure on the other side. I am suprised someone was able to convince all the residents on this street that this was a good idea. However, don’t even think about getting close to view these statues, stern no trespassing signs are posted everywhere.