http://www.postlets.com/ Paul Kiss and Tracy Haas | Prudentialct.com | paulkiss@prudentialct.com | 203-216-0800 10 Juniper Road, Newtown, CT Spacious 5 Bedroom Cape in Newtown,CT 5BR/3BA Single Family House offered at $619,000 Year Built 1960 Sq Footage 3,000 Bedrooms 5 Bathrooms 3 full, 0 partial Floors 2 Parking 2 Car garage Lot Size .85 acres HOA/Maint $0 per month DESCRIPTION This spacious country cape is located close to the center of town. Walk to the beautiful Main St from the fantastic home. Offers 5 bedrooms, 3 full baths, new granite kitchen and stainless appliances. Office, master and guest bedroom located on the main floor. Family room and additional 3 bedrooms on the upper level. Screened in porch overlooks level yard. Great home, great location. A must see! Call Paul and T... 02/12/2009

02/07/2009

Mandy Beckett | Prudential Connecticut Realty | (203) 733-2872 3 Somerset Lane, Sandy Hook, CT OPEN HOUSE SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8TH - 1:00PM - 3:00PM 4BR/3.5BA Single Family House offered at $787,000 Year Built 2004 Sq Footage 4,212 Bedrooms 4 Bathrooms 3 full, 1 partial Floors 2 Parking 3 Car garage Lot Size 1.17 acres HOA/Maint $0 per month DESCRIPTION This two-story foyer opens into a beautiful gourmet kitchen with center island surrounded by two-tone cabinetry. Granite and stainless steel appliances. Adjacent two-story breakfast area. Dining with atrium door to porch. Stone fireplace in family room. French door open into living room which adjoins recreation room. Gleaming hardwood floors with detail to millwork and crown molding. Master bedroom with tray ceiling, quiet sitting area and ... 02/07/2009

Mandy Beckett | Prudential Connecticut Realty | (203) 733-2872 57 Pond Brook, Sandy Hook, CT OPEN HOUSE Sunday, February 8, 2009 1:00pm - 3:00pm 4BR/3.5BA Single Family House offered at $779,900 Year Built 2004 Sq Footage 3,266 Bedrooms 4 Bathrooms 3 full, 1 partial Floors 2 Parking 3 Car garage Lot Size 3.47 acres HOA/Maint $0 per month DESCRIPTION This impeccable Custom Expanded 5 Bedroom Cape is nestled in 3.7 private acres abuts open space with stocked trout stream, hiking/horse trails in sought western Newtown with easy access to highway. Deep 2-story foyer flanked by a stunning dining room w/tray ceiling & formal living room. Completely surrounding in quality lighting designed and installed by “Lightolier” consultant. Masonry Stone fireplace with 42” hearth surrounds family area ... 02/07/2009

Our office in Newtown, CT likes to get involved in the local community.  A few years ago, our office chose Canine Advocates of Newtown, Inc.  Canine Advocates is a non-profit organization located in Newtown, CT and was formed in 1999 to do the following: to be a voice for the animals of Newtown to further the quality of life, safety and health of the dogs and cats at the Newtown Pound to assist in the adoption process through advertising, screening and education to provide walks, socialization and human interaction for the dogs to promote rescue referrals and to provide spay/neutering, rabies and distemper shots for all animals at the pound before adoption. A membership to Canine Advocates is $20 per year or you can donate money toward building the new pound here in town or for vetinary... 02/06/2009

Prudential Connecticut Realty's 4th Quarter 2008 Market Report is out and it is informative - as always.  It is broken out into two sections: Single Family Homes and Condominiums.  Under each section is every town along with a year over year comparison of the Days on Market, Median Sales Price, # of homes sold and the percentage change for each.  We thought it would be fun to look at the Greater Fairfield County Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for the town of Newtown as of today.  The MLS changes contunually so this is just a snapshot is time.  Here goes: As of this moment, there are 220 actively listed homes for sale in Newtown whose prices range from $49,900 for a mobile home to $1,990,000 for 5 bedroom, 5.5 bathroom Colonial on 2.13 acres.  Houses that are not mobile homes start at $1... 01/28/2009

Back in September, we posted a blog titled "Short Sale - What is It?".  We think this is useful information as we frequently explain what a short sale is to both buyers and sellers.  Our intention is to update you from time to time about the number of short sales actively listed for sale in Newtown, CT. There is a special code on our multiple listing service (MLS) that indicates a possible short sale.  We did a search using this code and came up with five (5) houses that are identified as a possible short sale.  They range in price from $315,000 to $1,355,000.  Three of these homes were on our original short sale list back in September.  Please note that of these actively listed short sales: 1 is under deposit 1 is new to the list Of the homes that are no longer on the list: 1 sold in D... 01/28/2009

For the past few months, we have been working on our website, www.connecticuthomesforsale.com, to improve it and make it more consumer friendly.  It was a pretty boring website with "canned" pages and comments.  Every page has been re-worked and the following items have been added: Client Testimonials FREE Map Give Away We have added IDX technology to our website.  IDX means that the MLS is available to the public on our website. We added a real estate related video at the bottom of the home page.  Should we keep the video real estate related or put in something that is funny? Our Facebook badges were added in below the video We'd like to get your opinion about the "The About Us" page (link is below).  We have come up with two different versions of the page and are not sure which is the... 01/18/2009

Hot Dog Cool Cat Contest is raising funds for the Sunshine Kids Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to children with cancer. Established in 1982, the SSK Foundation is committed to providing positive group activities and emotional support for young cancer patients. The Sunshine Kids provides a variety of programs and events, free of charge, for kids who are receiving cancer treatments in hospitals across North America. Prudential Real Estate Affiliates adopted The Sunshine Kids Foundation as their network charity in 1991. Prudential Connecticut Realty adopted The Sunshine Kids Foundation as a company charity in 2002. Since then, we have raised more than $700,000 through charity events and donations. Young cancer patients at Connecticut Children's Medical Center have enjoyed ... 01/15/2009

We don't often toot our own horn, but we feel that the awards and accolades we've recently received are worth mentioning. The client testimonial on the right is from a past client of ours (sorry for the quality, it's a scan from The Newtown Bee).  We sold his home in Bethel, CT over the past summer and he was kind enough to write this terrific testimonial for us.  This testimonial took on a life all its own after our office manager received it.  He passed it up the chain of command and it became a BIG topic of conversation at a leadership meeting.  All the office managers who were present discussed the Core Values that were represented by our service to this client.  They determined that we succeeded in meeting every one.  Prudential Connecticut Realty's goal is to be the Best Service P... 01/15/2009

Riley, the Real Estate Dog, is a 4 year old Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier (SCWT).  Riley is very friendly and greets everyone with an overly enthusiastic "Hello".  Riley also has loads of energy, and if we can avoid leaving him home all day by himself, we bring Riley along to real estate.  Riley is great for real estate!  His outgoing personality wins people over almost immediately.  Guess you could say that Riley is "people-friendly".       Yesterday, Riley was very busy.  We left our home at 9:45 am to meet our clients at 10:00 am.  We had already set up the day's appointments (surprisingly, all were vacant) and were ready to go.  We arrived at the pre-arranged meeting place and our clients called to tell us they would be late.  Riley anxiously waited and wagged his little tail for ever... 01/14/2009

Fairfield Hills is located in Newtown, CT on Wasserman Way, the connecting road between Rt. 25 and Rt. 34.  Fairfield Hills was a State Psychiatric Hospital in operation from the 1930's up into the 1990's.  It is an imposing facility with many buildings that are now vacant and in disrepair.  Fairfield Hills has a lot of history - check out this website for history on Fairfield Hills.    When we first moved to Newtown in 2000, Fairfield Hills was always a big topic in The Newtown Bee, our local newspaper (search the on-line archives for loads of Fairfield Hills news stories).  The Town of Newtown was in negotiation to purchase this facility from the State of Connecticut as the town felt they could keep better control over its future development.  Finally, in 2001, Newtown purchased the f... 01/11/2009

After over 20 years of loyalty of Hawleyville neighbors and patrons from other towns, including Brookfield enjoyed this historical charming Post Office! Residence came from the other side of town just to recieve a friendly smile from the 3 employees and superior service! That is what makes the place so unique! The Postal Service and Housatonic Railroad, were not able to reach an agreement about the building where the post office is located. Housatonic Railroad owns the aging building, which needs repairs  It's part of Newtown's history! Over the past year, hopes were raised and dashed and raised again about keeping the Hawleyville location open.  At the close of business on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2009, operations at the current Hawleyville post office will end. The District Manager will pur... 01/10/2009

Hot Dog Cool Cat Contest is raising funds for the "Sunshine Kids Foundation", a non-profit organization dedicated to children with cancer.  Established in 1982, the SSK Foundation is commited to providing positive group activities and emotional support for young cancer patients.  The Sunshine Kids provides a variety of programs and events, free of charge, for kids who are receiving cancer treatment in hospitals across North America! Prudential Real Estate Affiliates adopted The Sunshine Kids Foundation as their network charity in 1991.  Prudential Connecticut Realty adopted the Sunshine Kids Foundation as a company charity in 2002.  Since then, we have raised more the $700,000.00 through charity events and donations. Contest Information:  Hot Dog Cool Cat will be judged based upon cuten... 12/31/2008

There are many ways to drive traffic to your open houses.  Open houses continue to be the best way to market yourself. They take preparation, care during the open houses and follow up work. If you don't have a listing, adopt one and host an open houseARE YOU RUNNING OUT OF IDEAS FOR YOUR OPEN HOUSE? Here are some things to consider for open houses and additional exposure for your listings. Mailing announcements to the neighborhood and SOI. Call the neighbors to let them know about the open house. Offer holding a "special neighbor preview" for 1/2 hour before the public open house. We have tried this in many offices and the outcome has been an increase in traffic and neighbor participation. It's a great opportunity to show your stuff from a listing perspective. Call all of your past open... 12/31/2008

  On December 7th a local resident of Newtown, Connecticut opened up her home to all family & friends to auction off gift baskets as local business owners display their products to donate a percentage of their profit to Canine Advocate of Newtown, Connecticut!  From Mary Kay Representative, Silpada Design Jeweler, Local Photographer! Many generous local merchants donated gift cards; Newtown Nails, Sandy Hook Wine & Liquor, One hour - Personal Trainer, Make-up & Complimentary Application,  a New Beginning Salon & Day Spa, Petco and much more! Gift baskets were created by various neighbors and friends including a "Chocolate Deluxe creation" prepared by Mandy Beckett with Prudential Connecticut Realty. They raise over $1,000.00 for our furry friends!     Are you looking to adopt a pet?  I... 12/20/2008

I recently overheard a homeowner say that his Realtor had told him to "hold off" on listing his home for sale.  I really wanted to say something to this person about how wrong this was, but circumstances didn't allow.  I've thought about this comment and feel that it is a really irresponsible thing for a Realtor to tell a homeowner.  Think about it: In Newtown, home prices have come down 22% off the "peak".  If you purchased a home during the peak for $500,000, its value today is $390,000.  Should the market continue to decline in 2009, this same home's value will be less a year from now.  For example, if the real estate market declines another 6% in 2009, this same home would be worth $366,600 a year from now.  In a "normal" real estate market, home values appreciate between 2-5% a yea... 12/16/2008

Ride Your Horse into Newtown, CT  Horses are a part of life here in Newtown.  It's not uncommon to see people in riding clothes (boots and all) or to see horses around town.  There are many horse trails in town - some that cross privately owned land & some follow the old railroad beds.  I am not a rider; however, I understand from those who do ride that the trails in Newtown are very extensive and connect into Monroe and Brookfield. Newtown Bridle Land Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and protection of equestrian and passive recreation trails so unique to rural character of Newtown, CT.  They have been helpful when I've called seeking information about horse related "things" in town. The Second Company Governor's Horse Guard is located in Newtown.  ... 12/09/2008

Every year, prospective buyers and sellers ask us "When does the Spring real estate market begin?".  Our answer is always January 2nd! The term "Spring market" is a complete misnomer - a name that doesn't convey its true meaning.  According to my calendar, Spring begins in March; however, the real estate "Spring market" begins in January. Many sellers contact a Realtor in January about listing their home for sale in the "Spring".  When we meet with them, we always ask them why do they want to wait to put their home on the market.  9 times out of 10, they respond "for the Spring market", because they believe the "Spring market" begins in March or April. Buyers view January as the beginning of the Spring market.  They want to get out there and find the right home to purchase - right away.... 12/06/2008

  Back in September, I blogged about "Short Sale - What is It?".  I think this is useful information as I frequently explain what a short sale is to both buyers and sellers.  My intention at the time (although I did not mention it) was to update you from time to time about the number of short sales actively listed for sale in Newtown, CT. There is a special code on our multiple listing service (MLS) that indicates a possible short sale.  I did a search using this code and came up with the same seven houses that were listed for sale back in September.  Price range is exactly the same - $299,000 to $1,355,000; however, many of the homes in the range have taken price reductions. If you have any questions or if you'd like a list of possible short sale properties, Email us! 11/24/2008