It's that time of year again here in New Milford CT. The Edwin Kinkade Concerts on the Green kick off this Saturday, August 4, 2012. I love this series, I bring chairs, blankets, food and drink and share in the fun on our beautiful town green. The concerts are held on the bandstand (of course, what else is a bandstand for). Schedule of concerts, August 2012 Saturday, August 4, 2012 Bob Stump & the Blue Mountain Band 7:30 pm Saturday, August 11, 2012 Roger Young & Dixieland Jazz 7:30 pm (this event sponsored by Marandola Fuel Company) Saturday, August 18, 2012 James Walker & His Steel Drum Band 7:30 pm (this event sponsored by New Milford Insurance Agency) Saturday, August 25, 2012 Easton Banjo 7:30 pm (this event sponsored by Cramer & Anderson, LLP) These concerts are FREE, held "weathe... 08/01/2012

How is the real estate market doing in New Milford CT? Overall we have seen improvement, but hold on, that doesn't mean that if you are selling you need to raise the price of your house! We are still in a recovery stage, and any steps forward might well be followed by yet another step backward. It is still a buyers market in New Milford, CT! Currently there are 251 active listings, including those that are marked "under deposit" but have not yet gone under contract. In July of 2012 there were 22 single family homes sold in New Milford, same as in June. The average sale price was $322,857, which is up from the month of June. The time it will take to sell the current inventory of single family homes that are on the market in New Milford CT is 12 months. That would be if no other homes cam... 08/01/2012

New Milford CT celebrates the 4th of July over a three day period beginning today, July 5th and ending on Saturday, July 7th with the fireworks display. What's on tap for our annual 4th of July celebration in New Milford, CT? A carnival, a giant cake, Curtis T will sing the national anthem, i95 and provide us with music on the 7th, and much much more. Come downtown on the 7th to our beautiful town green and help celebrate America's birthday! Carnival, hosted by the Lion's Club, Youngs Field Rd. Thursday, July 5, 6pm - 10pm Friday, July 6th, 6pm - 11pm Saturday, July 7th, 5pm to closing (10:30-11:00 pm) The Big Birthday Bash! Saturday July 7, come to the green at 5:00 pm and enjoy! 5:00 pm at the bandstand, The Woman's Club of Greater New Milford will make and serve a giant cake 6:00 pm ... 07/04/2012

The Truth... Pricing a home to sell sit in New Milford, CT. Litchfield County CT. It is actually relatively easy. Just pick the number, your "magic" number, the one you want to get. You can interview agent after agent and see if you can squeeze this "magic" number out of one of them. It can be done. (Don't look at the current market stats, they are irrelevant in this case.) Then hang on for the long, long ride. The good news is, you won't have to endure the trials and tribulations of moving. There will be no hassles and headaches from all those showings... no pesky buyers to endure, no inconvenience at all! Let's look at a few to get you started. These lucky people had relatively little hassle, if any, over the course of the life of the listing. OK, perhaps they had to endure one or two... 07/03/2012

Litchfield County Real Estate Talk, is that an update, an upgrade, or was that merely maintenance? I hear it all the time, I put a new roof on, new siding, new furnace, the dreaded new septic, so THAT will certainly add value to my property, right? I mean, after all, I upgraded.... right? Are these updates or maintenance? You won't get your money back for putting on a new roof, or replacing a failing septic or a furnace that blew... nope, sad to say but you won't. Not in the way that you think. You and your neighbors home started life as identical dwellings. Over the years your neighbor has done nothing, the house has the original roof, original septic, original heating system, on and on. The house shows wear and tear. But you put a new roof on, you replaced the failing septic and heati... 05/01/2012

Warren Buffett says a simple sentence and the market moves ahead?  “If I had a way of buying a couple hundred thousand single-family homes I would load up on them.” (When he speaks, I guess everyone listens!) I am seeing such activity, like I have not seen in years! Busy is one thing, busy with closings is quite another. Yet we seem to be moving in that direction here in New Milford, CT. Our listings are going under deposit, our buyers are making offers that are being accepted. It is as if a magic wand was waved over the real estate market here in New Milford, CT with that simple sentence.  For me personally, the words spoken by Mr. Buffett took on new meaning. My company, Prudential Connecticut Realty, was purchased by HomeServices of America this week. HomeServices of America is a sub... 04/13/2012

I just closed on this 3 bedroom raised ranch on 14 Cornell Rd in New Milford, CT. House was listed for 225,000, went under deposit in 3.5 weeks, and closed today for $215,000. The real estate market is moving here in New Milford, CT. I have not seen it so busy is quite a while. Let's hope this movement will continue! 04/13/2012

We are seeing more buyers out looking at homes for sale in New Milford, CT, all over Litchfield County actually.  Yes. I am "cautiously optimistic" about the spring market here in Litchfield County, the overall news about the economy is sending mixed messages so anything goes I suppose. But yes, more buyers are out there looking, more homes are going under deposit than I have seen in a long time. But (there is always a but, isn't there) There are many homes on the market for sale, in New Milford, CT, in Litchfield County. When I did the latest real estate market report for New Milford, only 13 homes had sold in March of 2012. The absorption rate was high, it would take 17 months to sell the current inventory, if nothing else came on the market, based on the last 6 months of sales. So, h... 04/08/2012

Take a look at this 3 bedroom colonial for sale in New Milford, CT. Wonderful open floor plan, large master suite, lower level is partially finished, put a bit more work into it and you will have some really great space to expand into. Close to town and shopping, convenient commuting location to Rt 7 and New York State. Open Contemporary Colonial in New Milford CT Overview Maps Photos Features Description Around New Milford Neighborhood $280,000 Single Family Home Main Features 3 Bedrooms2 Bathrooms1 Partial BathroomInterior: 2,051 sqftLot: 1.38 acre(s) Location 12 Concord WayNew Milford, CT 06776USA To get updates on open home dates and other property events, please click the "Like" button below: Andrea Swiedler, Swiedler & Adams Prudential Connecticut Realty(860) 355-2646 X 19andrea@a... 04/06/2012

The house had been listed before, for a long, long time. It had chased down the market, but like a dog chasing their tail and never quite catching it, the price had never been close to the current market. Andrea, can you help us sell our house, please? So my business partner and I pulled the comps together. I knew, we knew, that we wouldn't be listing the house, we knew the last list price was still way to high. We knew it as the owners were telling us about the special cabinets, how much it cost them to build. I could hear the words before they said them... We are not going to GIVE it away, no thank you! Nope, not only are you not going to give it away, you are not going to sell it either! We don't take listings just to take them. We take listings to sell them. A house that is $75,000 ... 04/03/2012

New Milford, CT market report. We are seeing the amount of active listings creeping up yet again, without the sales to support it. We also saw a very poor list to sales price last month, homes sold for 88% of list price. This means there are still homes that are overpriced on the market. With an absorption rate of 17 months (how long it will take the current inventory to sell) it is certainly a buyers market and homes must be priced well to attract those buyers!As of April 2, 2012 in New Milford, CT there are 227 active single family homes for sale. The active inventory is creeping up again, there are 16 more active homes than there were last month at this time. 16 are listed as short sales, (there could be more however) and 4 are foreclosures. We just don't have the sales to support t... 04/01/2012

Selling your home in New Milford, Litchfield County, CT with pets? Pets and real estate, they can be like water and oil if you aren't careful. I know my old pooch, before he moved on, smelled. And it wasn't a pleasant smell either, trust me on that. There was no doubt, in the words of the Grinch, stink, stank ,stunk! And there was not much we could do about it. (We never told him either) But I wasn't selling my house. Wet dogs, old dogs, dogs that have been skunked... they smell. Clean, dirty, old, young, some buyers are very sensitive to dog odors. And then there is the cat box issue. The hardest thing for you may be to smell it yourself. Bring someone over, ask your agent, but be prepared for the answer. You need to know the truth. I hope they don't wrinkle their nose and run out of t... 03/26/2012

New Milford, CT market report, the good news is that homes sold for 95% of list to sale price in February 2012. The not so good news, the inventory is creeping back up again. Home sales were down in February, but this is very typical. As of March 2, 2012 in New Milford, CT there are 211 active single family homes for sale. The active inventory is creeping up again, there are 17 more active homes than there were last month at this time. 15 are listed as short sales, (there could be more however) and 4 are foreclosures.9 single family homes sold in New Milford, CT in February 2012. This is down from last month, however, February has historically been a very slow month for sales. Of these homes that sold, the average list price was $492,400. The average sale price was $471,500.  As you can... 03/01/2012

It is just about time to think about summer activities on Candlewood Lake, boating, swimming, fishing, sitting in the sun. If you start looking to buy your home on Candlewood Lake now, you can be in by the time all the real fun begins! Candlewood Lake is the largest lake in Connecticut. It spans 5,420 acres. Candlewood Lake was created in 1928, acres of farmland were submersed by water pumped up from the Housatonic River. Candlewood Lake sprawls through 5 towns in both Litchfield and Fairfield Counties, creating great water activities for those who live in New Milford (Litchfield County), New Fairfield, Brookfield, Sherman and Danbury, CT (Fairfield County). Interesting fact about the creation of Candlewood Lake. Although the residents of what is now Candlewood Lake were resettled to ot... 02/23/2012

According to my most recent real estate sales statistics for New Milford, Connecticut, homes sold for less than 14% of list price! Sort of... That is 14% of the last listed price, not the original list price. Do you want to see what the original list to sale price was? Well, here it is, for all 11 homes that sold in January 2012 in New Milford, CT. Original List Price (OLP), Sales Price (SP), Days on Market for the current listing (DOM), % off sales priceOLP 220,000, SP 79,500, DOM 49, 64% OFF the listed priceOLP 169,900, SP 90,000, DOM 209, 47% OFF the listed price OLP 169,900, SP 135,000, DOM 108, 21% OFF the listed price OLP 219,000, SP 192,000, DOM 212, 12% OFF the listed price OLP 259,000, SP 200,000, DOM 417, 23% OFF the listed price OLP 284,900, SP 245,000, DOM 231, 14% OFF the l... 02/02/2012

Listen up sellers! When a buyer asks the question, and they will, how much should they reduce their offer from the asking price in New Milford, CT I will have to tell them homes in New Milford, CT are overpriced on average by 14%! In a buyers market, this is not a good average.As of February 2, 2012 in New Milford, CT there are 194 active single family homes for sale. Last month there were 189, after a few months of the inventory shrinking, it is creeping back up just a bit. 13 are short sales, (there could be more however) and 6 are foreclosures. 11 single family homes sold in New Milford, CT in January 2012. This is down 5 homes from last month.  Of these homes that sold, the average list price was $375,019. The average sale price was $324,218.  These homes sold at 86% of list price, ... 02/01/2012

New Milford, Connecticut Real Estate Update  March, 2011 Closed home sales in New Milford, Connecticut: Single Family Homes: There were 13 single family home sales closed in New Milford, CT. The median closed real estate sales price for single family homes in New Milford was $281,000. On average, these homes sold for 98% of their final list price. Days on Market averaged 238 days of market time. NOTE:  38% of these closes sales were either bank-owned foreclosure sales or pre-foreclosure short sales.   This compares to 24 single family homes closed in this month last year, with a median closed sales price of $313,000.   Condos: There were 4 condominium sales closed in New Milford, CT. The median closed real estate sales price for condos in New Milford was $89,500. This compares to 7 cond... 02/01/2012

Do you know a guy who can.....??? I hear this all the time. Yes, I do, I know a guy who... cleans up and out, paints, pulls oil tanks, is a master carpenter, plows, mows, is a fantastic electrician, great plumber, on and on, tried and true, tested over and over again. As a side note, every time I hear that question "do you know someone...", I can't help thinking about one of my most favorite movies, "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels". The police chief says "A man owes me a favor. Rene the Knife. He is a master with a stiletto and a magician at hiding a body." Of course that just may illustrate how my mind works and might have been better left unsaid. As an example... Andrea, do you know someone that can pull this oil tank? I remember saying exactly this, "I know someone who is a master with a ba... 01/26/2012

You had your house for sale in Litchfield County... and it didn't sell. (You might be thinking.. why is she writing about that again?) In a nutshell, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I TALK ABOUT IT, WRITE ABOUT IT, WE STILL GET THESE PHONE CALLS! We have some tough questions for home owners. It is our roadmap, so to speak. Did you have a dollar amount already set when you priced your home? Did your price reflect what you want to get for the sale of your home? Did your price reflect the current local real estate market activity? Do you understand the current local real estate market? Did your price reflect the actual condition of your home? Are you really aware of the actual condition of your home? Next, a walk around the home. Have you learned to live with things that you no longer see? Do you reall... 01/25/2012

Sometimes I feel as if it is David vs. Goliath. Living in what I consider to be a rural area I have watched as large companies either force out local businesses or buy them out. Time and time again. And the sad part is, we lose. When it happens we often see job loss, we can see a loss of quality of service, we lose a sense of community. I know there is often no way to combat this tide, yet it doesn't make me happy. A few years ago I was helping a dear friend find a company to replace his oil burner. A well known local family owned company had just been bought up by a company based out of Canada. I spoke at length with a sales rep there who insisted that the new company was committed to the same level of service. They were even thinking about keeping the old company name as it was so wel... 01/17/2012