Assessment Woes

The City of New Haven has just released its new assessment figures, and there is a lot of talk in the media (see particularly the last couple of articles in the New Haven Independent) about tax increases by neighborhood.  As I've blogged about before, East Rock is the neighborhood in New Haven that stands out as having held its value over the past years of decline (Spring Glen in Hamden is the other one that really distinguishes itself).  Because so many areas in our region, let alone the core city, have gone down in value since the peak of the market, East Rock stands to have higher tax increases in the upcoming revaluation.

While one could look at that from a negative point of view, the real key here is that values have held up in that neighborhood, despite plenty of bad economic news and job loss around the region and the country.  Although that may cause taxes for people there to rise, they are not going to be underwater in value, as so many others are.  And that's certainly good news.

What's Selling?

Although it may sound as though nothing is selling in the current real estate market, there are some pockets of strong activity. The market is almost bifurcated, with most homes sitting and a few receiving multiple offers. I checked with two of our offices, our New Haven office and our Wallingford Regional office, to see what common threads exist with the quick sales we've had. There are three factors: price; condition; and location. Price means two things--the price must be considered a good value, and lower prices are more likely to attract first-time home buyers (the most active segment of the market now). Condition usually means that the property should be clean, freshly painted, and clutter-free. Location is the normal location, location, location. The worse the market, the closer you can get to the ideal location, and status does matter.

Having said all that, we are seeing strong interest particularly in East Rock, where demand outstrips supply now. Stefanie Rank has a listing on Livingston Street that has been shown over 50 times since the end of last week, and multiple offers. Fran DeToro sold a Whitney Avenue condo in less than a week. Mary Jane Burt has sold two high-end condos recently.

Hamden is also seeing demand. Eileen Smith has three times cleaned out a house top to bottom, shown it from Thursday to Sunday, and sold it on Monday. She has researched current prices in Spring Glen, and they have decreased by only 1%. The Edgehill team just sold a Hamden house in two days.

Remember that the tax credit can be used for one's 2008 taxes, so time is of the essence. So, if you're thinking of selling in any of these neighborhoods, please consider doing it now!