A Town or Not a Town?It is one of the more charming quirks of Connecticut or at least this part of the State - just what is a town?  If you are familiar with our State, you know we have 8 counties (e.g. Fairfield, New Haven, Litchfield, Tolland, New London, etc) and 169 Towns.  The counties really don't matter except on a map of the State - no county governments or taxes or much of anything - just something else for a 4th Grade Teacher to put on a test.Our Towns have grown and changed over the last 400 years....so we have old names, new names, old boundaries and new borders....and sometimes a combination.   Let's see, for starters - Fairfield, Westport, Weston, Easton and Black Rock all used to be part of Fairfield!   We still retain lots of our old Colonial heritage in the towns and al... 01/25/2008

Average Selling Price Comparison - 2007Home prices did surprisingly well in 2007.   With all the doom and gloom we read about, it is hard to believe that the Average Selling Price in Fairfield increased by nearly 9 percent over the prior year.  Westport, Weston, Easton and Trumbull were all up too.  Only Wilton seemed to take it on the chin with their Average Selling Price dropping 2.5%.With an Average Selling Price approaching $900,000 and unit sales up 17%, Fairfield enjoyed a very good year.  With Westport at $1.7 Million, Weston at $1.3 Million and Wilton at $1.1 Million, Fairfield looks like a good bargain too.  Fairfield is in a prime location both on the coast and on the commuter lines to New York City.  Both are advantages over Easton and Trumbull the only towns in our compariso... 01/25/2008

The Mortgage Crisis - Is it Real or is it the Media?Certainly it is real but it doesn't have the same impact everywhere.  Every Newspaper or Online Report has us seeing disaster around every corner.  In our local markets, it is more hit or miss.   The towns seem to be moving back towards a stronger market from the generally weak 2006.  Unit Sales are up in Fairfield, Easton, Weston, Wilton and Trumbull  --  Westport being the lone exception and coming in flat versus last year.  The cities are a different story.  Let's take Bridgeport for an example - Unit Sales are down almost 35% from their 2006 levels....and 2006 was down significantly from 2005.  This is where the Sub Prime Crisis is really being felt.   And needless to say, it hits all the related industries from Attorneys to Home I... 01/25/2008

Inventory in FairfieldIn Fairfield and the surrounding towns, inventory is down.  The number of homes for sale is lower than in 2006.  There is no question that the year 2006 will go down in history for its record levels of homes on the market.  It seems there was a For Sale sign in front of every mailbox....In fact the number of homes on the market peaked in Fairfield at 558 in October of 2006.  This is a dramatic increase over the typical high point of 330-340 homes in past years.  It also indicates that longer market times that it takes to get a home sold.  558 homes on the market compared to a total of 656 homes that sold in all of 2006 gives us an average Market Time of over 10 months - not the type of news that a Seller wants to hear.It is easy to see the market slow down in the c... 01/25/2008

Some Helpful Resources in the Fairfield area:We put together this Buyers Checklist to help people new to town with all the contacts & resources that are needed during the move in process.  Most of these contacts especially utilities need to be called one week in advance of your Closing date.   All the best and let us know if you have any suggestions for our list.Buyers Move-In ChecklistCall Electric CompanyUnited Illuminating - http://www.uinet.com/800-722-5584Call Gas CompanySouthern Connecticut Gas - http://www.soconngas.com/203-382-8665Call Cable TV/BroadbandCablevision - http://www.cablevision.net/203-336-2225Call Telephone CompanySBC - http://www.sbc.com/800-453-7638Call Trash CompanyCall town, gets names of companies that service your street256-3023 - Solid Waste and Recycling Dep... 01/24/2008

  THE HOME BUYING PROCESS            Most people are familiar with going to Open Houses or driving around with a Realtor or searching the weekly newspaper ads.  Some may even be "surfing the Net" looking for their dream home.  What happens after you find the home that is just right for you and your family?  Well, the process varies from town to town throughout the state.            We often find people from other states or even different parts of Connecticut have questions about how the buying process works in this area.  We thought it would be a good idea to describe for you the four key steps.  There may be additional steps or issues in some instances but for most cases this is the process we follow.  We hope you find this overview helpful.            Once you find the house you want,... 01/24/2008

Fairfield UpdateYear to Date Sales of Single Family HomesAs of December 31 2007200607 vs 06200507 vs 05Closes76665617%837-8%Median Price$635,000$629,0001%$625,0002%Avg Selling Price$891,171$819,2139%$781,30514%Prepared by the TETREAU Real Estate Group from W. Raveis Real Estate 01/24/2008

January 8, 2008Fairfield Real Estate Yearend UpdateOur local Real Estate market finished another solid if not spectacular year.  Fairfield Single Family unit sales finished strong in 2007 with 766 homes sold.  While the year wasn't a record setter, unit sales finished up 17% over 2006.  And importantly, the Median Selling Price remained stable - up 1% over the prior year at $635,000.  Fairfield and the surrounding towns are doing well amidst the turmoil in the national real estate markets.While the Subprime Credit crunch has caused a big dip in certain markets nationwide, locally, it is the cities that have seen the major impact. In Bridgeport, for example, unit sales of Single Family homes finished down 34% from 2006 and down 45% from 2005.  Surprisingly, the Median Selling Price in th... 01/24/2008

Click on logo to go to RuthmanRE.com Current Market Analysis- Fairfield, Fairfield County - August to November  StatusClassTypeAreaNo. of ListingsDollar VolumeAverage PriceMedian PriceAverage DOM                  Active Listings423$470,523,508$1,112,349$734,00096Listings Under Contract34$35,323,800$1,038,935$694,50088Listings Sold 2007129$114,281,500$885,903$683,00192         ACTIVE         Single Family         Single Family Detached         FAIRFIELD361$425,867,493$1,179,688$779,900101Sub Total361$425,867,493$1,179,688$779,900101REDUCED PRICE         Single Family         Single Family Detached         FAIRFIELD23$16,574,499$720,630$664,20061Sub Total23$16,574,499$720,630$664,20061RAISED PRICE         Single Family         Single Family Detached         FAIRFIELD1$2,350,000$2,350,000$... 11/20/2007

Santa to Arrive Saturday After Thanksgiving Staff Reports Article Launched: Fairfield CT Citizen News 11/16/2007 10:13:29 AM ESTMouth-watering hot chocolate, wreaths, holiday cards and flower pins, gingerbread house kits and so much more will be available at The Fairfield CT Chamber of Commerce's annual "Santa's Arrival." Twenty community organizations will line up on the Sherman Green to sell an assortment of holiday items on Nov. 24. Santa Claus, played by Peter Christopher of Fairfield County Home Inspections, will arrive by hook-and-ladder down Reef Road at 10 a.m. He will be installed in the gazebo, where Peter Christopher will stay until 2:30 p.m. to listen to the wide-eyed wishes of anywhere from 500 to 600 children. Beginning in 2002, the chamber invited town organizations and o... 11/17/2007

10/30/2007

Lists/General Clutter Free Info.Make "to do list" for your children and/or spouse to follow.  This will free up some of your time.Purchase a card month by month holder if you find that you miss birthdays and this will keep you more organized.Keep a calendar with daily events for your family and yourself.Daily, walk through your home/office and pick up everything put in a central pile, go through all items and put everything back in place in the home. Magazines, thumb through them and clip the articles you want to save. This will free up a lot of space. You say when can I do that, multi-task...when you are on the phone look at the magazines and talk.Take one place in your work space for scheduling, notes and tasks you must attend to.Make it fun for the kids to help clear the clutter, giv... 10/26/2007

Fairfield County Home Inspection gives Credit to Colleen Phelan for writing this article.  I just finished reading the article regarding the Fairfield public school lawsuit being brought by Mrs. Fiore. While I know nothing of the details of the alleged discrimination, I do want to offer my support to Dwight's principal, Brenda Anziano, who is mentioned in the article. Ms. Anziano is an "openly" wonderful principal. She is a fine administrator and always puts the children first. If you were to stop by Dwight on any given day, you may see her playing soccer with the kids during recess, reading to kindergartners, and meeting with parents, in addition to her long list of administrative duties. She is caring and welcoming. Above all, she sets an "excited to learn" atmosphere at Dwight. The D... 08/19/2007

  A movie extra dressed in 1950s style clothing uses a cell phone... FAIRFIELD - The morning tide has erased the evidence that Leonardo DiCaprio's feet touched the sand at Sasco Beach. No matter to his scores of local fans; they have proof the superstar was in their town Monday. DiCaprio's Fairfield visit, including a romp on the beach with co-star Kate Winslet, dinner at the Scandinavian Club and racing on foot through Southport center, was captured for the silver screen by director Sam Mendes, Winslet's husband. Fairfield is the latest location for the filming of "Revolutionary Road," about a troubled Connecticut couple in the 1950s based on the book of the same title by Richard Yates. The film crew has also shot scenes in Trumbull, Darien, Beacon Falls, Norwalk, Stamford and Thomasto... 07/17/2007

          The public life, -June 27th, 2007.  I just finished reading the Buzzmachine's, (Jeff Jarvis) article on the Public Life.     It interested me because of what we do when we are not in "our suits" or "on our blogs".  What is our demeanor in public life when we assume  no one will recognize us.    Today I had to go to the DMV. (Not my favorite place.)  After waiting a small eternity, and listening to someone with a holier than thou attitude get disgusted with a teller for following protocol, it was my turn.  I handed over my paperwork to the verbally beaten clerk.  She managed to muster up a sincere smile and was pleasant.  I still couldn't help but feel bad for her.    At the end of the transaction, I paid her with a company checkand gave her a bag of Llindt chocolates I had in ... 06/27/2007

Welp.... My first one is DONE.  I was up early this morning and hopped the 6:55 train out of New Haven instead of battling traffic and parking around Jennings Beach.  Surprisingly there were not as many runners as I expected to see at Union Station. I arrived about an hour before the start and got my paperwork done since I did not pre-register.  The crowd filled the beach and parking lot and if I recall corrrectly they announced a record number of about 3000 runners.   The Fairfield Half Marathon ( 13.1 Miles ) was a tougher course than anticipated.  Starting down on the beach I expected relatively flat topography but there were some decent hills. Below is an elevation profile of the course. I am not a speed runner so I decided to carry a camera in case I wanted to snap a few shots alon... 06/24/2007

     Yesterday, I visited my friend, Emily.  She is fun and frisky 92 years young.  When we get together we giggle like teenagers.  But, there wasn't that much to laugh about yesterday.  Someone scammed Emily.     Boy, did that make me mad!  Nothing gets my feathers ruffled like ingrates preying on the innocent.      As per Emily, she was contacted by a chimney sweep company by telephone.  They said that they would clean her chimney for $40.  She thought that was a good deal and agreed. < Bad idea.> They came to the house with a respectable looking professional vehicle, went into the basement and brought back Emily a piece of cement. They said she had a problem with her chimney that would require a inserting a flexible metal pipe chimney lining and installation of a chimney cap. He quot... 06/23/2007

Community Events Arts & Crafts ShowSaturday, June 23 to Sunday, June 2410:00 am to 5:00 pm at the Old Town Hall Green, Fairfield.Come and visit 75-80 artists and crafts persons in this shady, historic setting on the Old Post Road in Fairfield. There is something to please all tastes and price ranges -- watercolors, oils & acrylics, photography, pottery, clothing, jewelry, toys, furniture (both indoor and outdoor), leather bags, canvas totes and accessories, florals and more. Admission is free.This event will take place rain or shine. Sidewalk Sale DaysFriday, July 27 to Saturday, July 2810:00 am to 5:00 pm in downtown Fairfield and around town.Shop in a friendly, hometown atmosphere for discounts and bargains all over Fairfield. And while you're visiting your favorite stores, stop by so... 05/26/2007

    Ruthman Real Estate has been following the 129 single family properties that were listed as NEW on May 1, 2007.  Some have already shown price reductions.  If you are interested in Connecticut Market Trends.  This information encompasses all Connecticut towns that have properties listed in the Consolidated Multiple Listing System.  Click on our logo for the complete analysis that includes status and prices.Chris and Rhonda's Personal "Professional" Blog:  C'Mon, Someone is Going To Find Out 05/16/2007

The following information up-to-date reported activity from the Consolidated MLS .  This includes all Connecticut towns and inputted by Realtors that belong to the Consolidated MLS.If you desire more indepth information that includes individual Towns or Property History, please click on the Ruthman Real Estate Logo: RuthmanRE.com SINGLE FAMILY PROPERTIES:8732 (ACTIVE) Homes For Sale (includes homes CTS properties)739* (CTS-Continued to Show) accepted offers, but have outstanding contingencies to satisfy before pending. *This number is included and part of the ACTIVE.1581 (PENDING) (This number is part of a different category and NOT included in the 8732 Homes for Sale)4493 (SOLD) - since January 1, 2007 - Separate number from the ACTIVE Homes for Sale.Other Single Family Activity Report... 05/12/2007