Week 46: How to Show a House. John Engel’s Real Estate Column for the New Canaan Sentinel
This week’s column is not really about showing a house. I am being both literal and metaphorical, relevant for those of you in another line of work. It’s about being purposeful in everything we do. I’ll begin with a story from the Army. Sergeant Cornelius had previously been a General’s aide. When interviewing new, young […]
Week 45: Summer Thoughts. John Engel’s Real Estate Column for the New Canaan Sentinel
Pool construction is down 49% since peaking during the pandemic, 2021. And searches in Google for “swimming pool cost” is also down 40% since 2020, now at their lowest levels in a decade. Pool Corp estimates that the cost of a new pool nationally has risen 72% in the last 5 years (2019-2024) to $74,000. […]
Week 44: Mid Year Market Report for 8 Towns. John Engel’s Real Estate Column for the New Canaan Sentinel
We looked at the stats for the first 6 months, comparing towns of similar size and wealth head to head in order to add some context. When we quote a number, it is a comparison with this time last year. These figures include houses, condos and co-ops. Most striking is Darien’s lack of inventory, Norwalk’s […]
Week 43: Rental Market Roundup. John Engel’s Real Estate Column for the New Canaan Sentinel
We can see in this chart that in Manhattan the discount on rents has been close to zero since the beginning of 2024, while across the East River in Brooklyn and northern Queens the discount has been negative for three years, at times quite extremely negative at -8%. Note, a negative discount means that the […]
Week 42: Two Strategies: Buydowns and Assumable Mortgages. John Engel’s Real Estate Column for the New Canaan Sentinel
This week we’ll discuss discount points and assumable loans as two creative ways to approach your next real estate purchase. Purchasing discount points becomes more popular during periods of higher interest rates. It’s a strategy everyone should consider in this “higher-for- longer” environment. According to Zillow, nearly half (45%) of home buyers with conventional loans […]
Week 41: Market Report – Five Months In. John Engel’s Real Estate Column for the New Canaan Sentinel
New Canaan – There are 73 single-family homes for sale, a -15% drop since last year. Last year we peaked in May with 86 and two years ago we peaked in June with 95, a steady decline. The median sold price was $2.02 million across May’s 18 sales, a price decline of -9.35% since April […]
Week 40: The Lost Art of the Listing Description. John Engel’s Real Estate Column for the New Canaan Sentinel
This is a lost art. I am referring to the property description field on the multiple listing service. The New Canaan MLS limits agents to 500 characters while the SmartMLS allows 1500. Letting agents say three times as much does not seem to be making much of a difference. Uninspired is uninspired . A mashup […]
Week 39: Inspection Season. John Engel’s Real Estate Column for the New Canaan Sentinel
As we approach the end of the Spring market this is the point of the year when we appear to have the most amount of inventory, the crest of the inventory sine wave. That is because everything that is coming on is on, and those properties that have accepted offers are still waiting for signed […]
Week 38: Beach Season – the Waterfront Report. John Engel’s Real Estate Column for the New Canaan Sentinel
It’s beach season and Save the Sound has graded all 197 Connecticut beaches on water quality and 75% of them got a grade of A or B. Beaches at the entrance to Long Island Sound such as in Noank and Groton lead the list, but in this area the top beaches are Bell Island Beach […]
Week 37: Tailwinds and Low Sensitivity to Rates. John Engel’s Real Estate Column for the New Canaan Sentinel
I want to revisit why the New Canaan housing market is so far out balance, favoring sellers, and why prices keep rising, and why this trajectory is destined to continue. New Canaan will continue to see rising prices for two reasons: low interest rate sensitivity and strong demand tailwinds. The market began 2023 expecting a […]
