Agents report a slowing in the marketplace to neutral in Bridgeport, Connecticut, with good buys emerging for buyers in a low interest rate climate.
"The market in Fairfield County, Connecticut is still hot as of the end of July 2003, although there are fewer buyers in the market," say Realtors Peter Weiss and Abby Abbaspour. "Sellers still get their prices if they are realistic for their neighborhood. Lately though, the prices are not moving up at the pace of the last few years."
The Realtors explain, "The real estate market is sustained by low interest rates and therefore low mortgage rates. These are likely to stay. The federal government is overspending, among other things on the Iraq war and as a result has developed a deficit. Local municipalities are in the same straits. The local and federal governments are collecting less in taxes due to the present economic conditions and uncertainties of the future. These conditions also cause the collection of less in taxes because many people are out of work and those that have jobs seem to spend less. As a result there are fewer buyers in this market and the time is ripe to negotiate exceptional deals."
Say Realtors Judy and Bob Mori, "As Connecticut's largest city, Bridgeport's housing characteristics are single family detached, 22.8 percent, condominiums, 6.6 percent, multi-unit, 68.4 percent and other, 2.2 percent."
Explain the Moris, "Bridgeport entered June with 411 single-family detached homes listed as "for sale." They ranged in price from $29,900 to $995,000 with an average "list price" of $193,842. The median "list price" was $179,000. With the average and median "list prices" reasonably close, this indicates that active listings in Bridgeport are not skewed in terms of "list price" to the high end or the low end of the market.
"For the prior three months, March - May, the average "list price" was $193,673. For these months a total of 193 single family-detached homes "closed" in Bridgeport. The average "sold price" was $175,628. This is an increase of 0.7% over the average "sold price" of $174,413 for the three months, December - February."
They advise, "Based on the above and our experience of working with buyers and sellers in Bridgeport on a daily basis, we conclude that the real estate market for single-family detached homes in the city is a neutral market, i.e., neither a buyer's nor a seller's market. Factors influencing today's market are:
- Positive: Historically low mortgage rates.
- Negative: The overall economic concerns impacting our country.
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Published: July 30, 2003
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