HOA Fees?  In Newtown, CT?  HOA you ask, "what is that?"  HOA stands for Homeowner Association and sometimes, they charge fees to a community.  Those fees cover things like garbage pick up, road maintenance, pool maintenance, gate/guard fees at the entrance.    A recent question in an email from someone looking to move to Newtown was "Are there HOA fees in Newtown?"  For the most part, we don't have them, but they do exist. The most common is in condominium complexes.  The HOA fees there can range from $200/month to $500+/month depending on the complex. Water communities have HOA fees.  A water community is located by the lake and used to be a community of summer homes.  The HOA fees, in the Newtown, water communities are not mandatory. Sometimes, in a subdivision, there is an informal ... 07/13/2016

  HOME SALES AND PRICES IN NEWTOWN, CT for February, 2016 Real estate market data for Newtown, CT provided by Olga Simoncelli, Broker-Owner of Veritas Prime Real Estate. Here’s a brief look at the state of the real estate market in Newtown, CT as of today, February 23, 2016 as it pertains to SINGLE FAMILY homes: ACTIVE - means these homes are on the market right now, as listed in the Multiple Listing Service. There are 201 homes on the market, ranging in price from $58,000 (mobile home) to $2,250,000. The average price is a healthy $560K and the median $510K. These properties include 18th century antiques as well as brand-new 2016 construction. One home boasts over 34 acres and one has been on the market 1,733 days!  CTS (CONTINUE TO SHOW) - CTS is real estate lingo for “under deposit”.... 02/23/2016

Winter Musings While Walking at Fairfield Hills  Today, is February 18, 2016.  The weather has been frigidly cold the last week and then the temps in the low 50's with heavy rain.  Most of the snow has now melted.  Today's temp was about 30 degrees and windy.  Richelle decided to take Riley, the Real Estate Dog, for a walk this afternoon.  Now, Richelle and Riley walk at Fairfield Hills on a regular basis.  They have a regular route that they walk, but today, was a completely different route all together.As they walked along, Richelle got to thinking about Fairfield Hills and all that will happen on the grounds as the weather gets warmer.  She also thought about things that she's done in there in the past.She thought that in just a few short months, Newtown's Organic Farmer's Market wil... 02/18/2016

Newtown, CT: A Real Estate Comparison 2014 vs 2015  Well, Happy New Year!  It's time for our annual comparison of the past 2 years of real estate values in Newtown, CT.  As in past years, we are going to start with the median sale price and the number of sales for each year.  We added in 2013 for further discussion below.  Year Median Sale Price Number of Sales Median Cumulative Days on Market 2013 $360,000 297 125 2014 $360,000 364 128 2015 $366,000 356 105  You can clearly see that the median sale price in Newtown increased by almost 2% in 2015.  The overall number of sales for the town was down, but at just 8 fewer, we're not too concerned about that.Median cumulative days on market decreased by 23 days.  Cumulative days on market differs from active days on market in that it shows a... 01/24/2016

Well built Cape on a private level lot. Come take a look at this affordable, surprisingly spacious 2 Bedroom one bath home, with the potential for a 3rd bedroom in the walk up attic. Excellent commuter location with easy access to exit 10 and minutes from Sandy Hook Center. This home has hardwood floors and a living room with fireplace and arched doorways. One car garage underneath on 3/4 of an acre site. A little TLC is needed, but you could move right in. 01/06/2016

A Bathtub, You Say?  Back in the early days when eBay was just a young fledgling company, we used to collect antique tin wind up toys. Back in those days, you had to search for what you collected - not just go on the Internet to find it. (& yes, we've just dated ourselves). We'd go all over looking for toys to add to our collection. A couple of our favorite places to search for new treasures were the huge antique show in Atlantic City, NJ (Atlantique City) which was held twice a year at the Old Convention Center on the Boardwalk and The Elephant's Trunk in New Milford, CT.Inevitably, back then, we'd spot a toy that we'd never seen before. We'd be so excited about it and wonder what is it? Should we buy it ... now? or wait?  As we continued walking around the show, without fail, we'd see... 12/08/2015

Frozen Pipes Are Not Fun Earlier this year, we represented the buyers of a foreclosure home here in Newtown. Foreclosures are generally fraught with "issues". This one wasn't too bad, but there were split pipes in the home and they are always problematic.  Pipes split are due to the pipes in the home freezing which happens when there is no heat in a home. No heat can happen for a few reasons, but during the winter months, no heat is always problematic - especially if the home is vacant.  Why are frozen pipes so problematic? As soon as the temperatures warm up, the pipes will defrost and the water will flow out of the broken pipes - causing damage. Frozen Pipes Are Not Fun.When we have a vacant home listed for sale, we always speak to the owners about protecting the house during the cold... 11/18/2015

Fall Over Newtown, CT We feel that Newtown, CT is a beautiful New England town and that we are very fortunate to live here. As Realtors, we drive all around town and see all the different sections of town often. In particular, we drive past the Newtown flagpole at least once per day as it's the center of town.We've seen this area under many different circumstances (rain, snow, summer, fall, at Halloween, Labor Day Parade), but we've never seen it from the air.We think this is a great video that displays our beautiful town well. We hope that you enjoy it as much as we have.  When you move to Newtown, you can witness the seasonal changes in town for yourself. Fall Over Newtown, CT showcases our small town really well. If you haven't already, we hope you fall for Newtown, too.   11/16/2015

Search Homes in Newtown, CT  Your search for homes in Newtown, CT just got a lot easier.  www.ConnecticutHomesforSale.com has all the tools you need to find your new home.   Above is a screenshot of the home page of www.ConnecticutHomesForSale.com. There are 3 main parts that you need to know about: To Find a Home - type in either Newtown or 06470 with the box in the middle is circled in white. Then click on the magnifying glass for your results.  You can modify the search criteria once the results come up.  You can do this 3 times without needing to create an account. You can create an account or Sign in to your account in the upper right where the black arrow & green circle are.  You can sign in with Facebook or register - which ever is easiest for you. Market Insider is something you... 11/05/2015

Comparison Short Sales and Foreclosures in Newtown, CT  The one thing that is constant in life is CHANGE and the Newtown, CT real estate market is always changing.  Today, we are looking at the number of short sales and foreclosures that have closed in Newtown so far this year (to 8/24)  and in years previous.  The number of sold short sales in Newtown has definitely declined since 2012.All data in the graph above was pulled from the multiple listing service (MLS) and all solds for the past years was pulled from the beginning of each year to 8/24.  We see this change in our market as a good sign.  Short sales and foreclosures have been one of the reasons that Connecticut real estate market has been slow to recover as compared with other areas of the country.  Connecticut is a judicial s... 08/24/2015

 Open House from 12pm-3pm today at 206 Sugar St in NewtownNewly renovated 3 bedroom 1 bath home in desired Head O' Meadow area. New roof, new septic, new hardwood floors throughout and newer furnace. New granite counter tops and tiled floor in the kitchen. Entire interior freshly painted. Low taxes. Fireplace and crown moldings in living room. Private deck. Flagstone patio. Move in ready. This is a must see!    07/26/2015

A Dog Walk in Newtown, CT on a Spring Day Riley, the Real Estate Dog, and Richelle go for walks ... frequently.  They have their favorite places to walk around Newtown.  Each walk is a different length and each place offers a different environment.  One of their favorite places to walk is over behind Fairfield Hills.  There is a paved walkway and a system of trails that go off into the woods.  Sometimes, it's very busy with lots of people walking (some with dogs, some without and some on bikes & even some jogging) and other times, there are so few people that you don't see another person the whole time you are walking.Riley and Richelle like to walk on the paths that go through the woods.  They call it "off roading".     If you ever see Riley, the Real Estate Dog, and Richelle out walki... 05/02/2015

Market Update for Newtown, CT as of 4/20/2015  We have been out showing homes to buyers who can purchase in the $300,000's.  Recently, we've had quite a few of these buyers and it seems to us that the market in this price range is moving well.  Have to you ... it's really nice to see how nicely this price range is moving   Anyway, this made us look at the market to see if we are correct.We put together a quick little spreadsheet to compare the actives vs the under deposits in all price ranges. Here is what we found:    Active Under Deposit $0-$100,000 2 0 $100,000-200,000 11 4 $200,000-$300,000 18 11 $300,000-$400,000 35 20 $400,000-$500,000 41 10 $500,000-$600,000 37 7 $600,000-$700,000 28 3 $700,000-$800,000 19 2 $800,000-$900,000 10 1 $900,000+ 14 1  The table above shows us that we ... 04/20/2015

Market Update for Newtown, CT as of 3/16/15  Here is a comparison of the closed single family home sales in Newtown, CT for both February 2014 and February 2015: Closed Sales February 2014 Units Sold - 21 Average Days on Market - 139 Average List Price - $308,500 Average Sale Price - $294,424 Sale Price to List Price Ratio - 95% Closed Sales February 2015 Units Sold - 15 Average Days on Market - 203 Average List Price - $410,027 Average Sale Price - $389,600 Sale Price to List Price Ratio - 96% Interesting ... It is always interesting to see how two years of real estate compare to one another.  The average days on market for February 2015 was considerably longer than it was in 2014.  When we went back to look at the list of sales for February 2015, there were two sales with considerably... 03/16/2015

Real Estate Comparison 2013 vs 2014 for Newtown, CT  We are little late in posting this information, but here it is.  We like to compare and contrast real estate performance for the end of the most recent year as compared to the prior year.  This gives us a good overview on how the market performed.   Although we had a good real estate year in 2014, it's important for us to keep up with how the market, as a whole performed.     Year      Sale Price, Median      Sales, Number of      2013 $365,000 323 2014 $365,000 421   It's curious to see that the median price was EXACTLY the same for 2013 and 2014.  What is nice to see is that the number of sales picked up signficiantly.  This signals to us the the buyers who have been sitting on the sidelines waiting for the problems in the market to... 02/23/2015

Tips in Buying Lake Zoar Waterfront Homes for Sale   Like any other home purchase, it’s important to know what you want and need in a Lake Zoar waterfront home in order to make a smart choice. However, unlike buying a typical home, there are special considerations you need to take to endure that your Lake Zoar real estate will fit your lifestyle and allow you to enjoy the activities you truly love.  Here are some tips to guide you in buying your dream Lake Zoar home for sale:   1. Know your needs. The most critical part of looking for Lake Zoar waterfront homes is knowing exactly what you want. A potential homebuyer of a Lake Zoar home for sale should know how they plan to use the property, what their passions are, and what their priorities are when it comes to waterfront living. With t... 02/17/2015

I received a call at the office from an out of town client. He wanted to list his Newtown house with a local agent. After carefully evaluating the market and going over the comparables with the owner, we set a Listing price that would sell the home. With the professional photographer scheduled, there was only one thing to do, that was "whatever it takes". So I enlisted the help of my wife, and we had the house ready to show.          The Client(who now lives in CO.) was so impressed with what we did, and after showing him the photographer's pictures said "Nice pictures! Maybe I should move back, Ha Ha.What a good job you have done " There are many choices of agents you can hire, just make sure they have a "whatever it takes" attitude toward their business.   If you are thinking of buyin... 01/10/2015

Main Street Happenings - Newtown, CT  Over the years, we have blogged about things that happen on Main Street in Newtown, CT. The two main things are: The Labor Day Parade Halloween As we drove down Main Street today headed to the office, it occurred to us that there are more than those 2 things above.  Tonight is Newtown's holiday tree lighting at Ram's Pasture.  The give away, was the luminaries that were along side Main Street to light the way to the holiday tree. It's a bid weekend in town.  The tree lighting is just the beginning.  There will be tree lightings in the Sandy Hook and Hawleyville sections of town.  The Holiday Tour is happening again this year after being on hiatus last year.  The Annual holiday sale is happening at the C.H. Booth Library. All in all, when people ask ... 12/05/2014

Halloween 2014 in Newtown, CT was a very different experience for us this year. In years past, we've been at the Main Street home of a friend and watched the Halloween happenings from someone's front porch.  It was a great way for us to experience Halloween for many years. Both of us, but mostly Richelle has handed out candy to thousands of trick or treaters over the years from this friend's home.   But, we've never actually participated with a trick or treater or anything. This year - 2014 - we broke away from what was familiar to us and took our grandson trick or treating down Main Street.  Riley, the Real Estate Dog, joined us, too.  Our grandson was dressed up as the Scream character, but being 5 years old, he thought he was a ghost. First, let us talk about the homes that were deco... 11/08/2014

Think about this story:   An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house-building business to live a more leisurely life with his wife and enjoy his extended family. He would miss the paycheck each week, but he wanted to retire. They could get by.  The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but over time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end a dedicated career.  When the carpenter finished his work, his employer came to inspect the house. Then he handed the front-door key to the carpenter and said, “This is your house.... 10/06/2014