Real Estate Year End Market Report ~ Darien, Ct. 06820   January 11th, 2012 For the month of December 16 single family homes have sold in Darien, Connecticut compared to 22 homes from December of 2010 with current inventory at 115 homes for sale. Year end housing data for 2011 shows that 227 single family homes sold compared to 248 last year with the median sale price up 5.7% for the year compared to 2010. Current price per square foot averages out to around $493 for the year with sales to list price ratio for the year at around 92%.    Year to Date ~  Single Family Property ~ Darien, Ct.     Through Through Through   December 2011 December 2010. December 2009.         UNIT SALES 227 248 182         AVERAGE SALE PRICE $1,693,347 $1,693,593 $1,438,205         MEDIAN SALE PRICE $1,400,00... 01/11/2012

  No Fluff’n’Nutter In My Blog ~ ActiveRain Resolution 2012.   Fluff’n’Nutter, a white creamy-gooey substance that provides no significant benefits. My New Year’s Resolution 2012 theme for the first week of January is to “Do Better Blogging”. In short no Fluff’n’Nutter in my ActiveRain posts but to provide quality content, information, links, tips and information that will provide useful to my reader and thus to increase the number of eyeballs to my AR posts. Over the first week of the New Year here in my ActiveRain Blog I have written a few posts to share with my friends in the AR community to get the ball rolling (links below).  I have also picked out a few AR posts that relates to the subject and have re-blogged them. Part of being involved with ActiveRain is sharing knowledge, helpi... 01/07/2012

  Improve Your ActiveRain Blogging SEO With Twitter.   The majority of ActiveRain members seem to have a FaceBook Fan Page but do they have a Twitter Account? If not then you need to get yourself a twitter account and start posting your ActiveRain Blogs on it. I have and in the past year I have expanded my SEO to outside of the ActiveRain groupies. For example over the past year my ActiveRain blogs have been re-twitted and/or re-blogged by: Local homeowners & business NAR’s Green Local Newspapers The local town Patch.com groups Regional bloggers and real estate agents Greentowns.com And other local and national website, blog and different groups.   Because of this I have many additional non AR members, real estate and non real estate groups following my ActiveRain blogs via locally and ... 01/03/2012

  326,766 Views On My ActiveRain Page ~ Just for Giggles. Well it is January 1st, 2012 and time to get your ActiveRain blog in order and see how you are doing and where you are going. If for some chance that you have not gone to your statistic page on ActiveRain then do so now. This will show you which ActiveRain posts have been successful and which have been duds. The statistic page will give you: The date posted The title of the blog The number of comments, views & clicks The number of short URL clicks   I joined ActiveRain in May 2010 and in those 20 months I have had 326,766 Views & 120,063 Clicks this compares to my 1 year anniversary at ActiveRain in May of 2011 where I had 166,842 Views & 61,171 Clicks.           AR Members ~ 4 SPECIAL ACTIVERAIN POSTS FOR NEW YEARS DAY 2012   :-... 01/01/2012

  ActiveRain Tips for the New Year 2012. What better way to start off the New Year than to share with my fellow ActiveRain members some tips, ideas and suggestions for a better blogging experience within the ActiveRain community. Is Fluff or is it Substantial content in your ActiveRain post? Your blog is a reflection of you, keep it professional. Below are links to posts that I have written to help you better your ActiveRain experience, keep singing in the rain, dancing on the cloud, best wishes for the New Year. Just click on the title to go to the article. ActiveRain Gift to RainMakers ~ $ for AR points. Everything You've Ever Wanted to Know about SEO ... Well Almost ActiveRain Involved With New Launch of RealEstate.com ~PRO’s & CON’s Learning From Your Local Top Producers. Be a Proac... 01/01/2012

  My All Time Top 10 ActiveRain Posts. Being part of the ActiveRain community has taught me a lot about blogging, the internet, real estate, business, making friends, networking and most importantly sharing your knowledge and experience. I have been part of this wonderful community since May 2010, finding out about it at a Tom Ferry real estate seminar. One of the main reasons why we are here at ActiveRain is to drive business to our front door. What AR post work and what do not. I have put together my all time top ten posts to share with you for this New Year 2012 and hopefully it will give you some insight, inspiration and encouragement to write quality substantial posts. Good luck ~Best Wishes for a Prosperous and Healthy New Year.     DATE TITLE COMMENTS VIEWS CLICKS 10 8/6/2010 Nor... 01/01/2012

  Best Wishes for the New Year 2012   Here's a toast to the future,  A toast to the past, And a toast to our friends, far and near.  May the future be pleasant; The past a bright dream;  May our friends remain faithful and dear.   *   Count your blessings instead of your crosses; Count your gains instead of your losses. Count your joys instead of your woes; Count your friends instead of your foes. Count your smiles instead of your tears; Count your courage instead of your fears. Count your full years instead of your lean; Count your kind deeds instead of your mean. Count your health instead of your wealth; Love your neighbor as much as yourself.     * May the road rise to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face. And rains fall soft upon your ... 01/01/2012

  ActiveRain Read ~ “World Changers: 25 Entrepreneurs Who Changed Business as We Knew It” Author John A. Byrne has published a book of the “World Changers: 25 Entrepreneurs Who Changed Business as We Knew It” and what they have done. What motivates an entrepreneur, what common behaviors and attributions do they share? This book will dive into this a much more but here I will share the three core attributes that every entrepreneur shares: An Opportunistic Mind-set.  Entrepreneurs see opportunity where others se disruption, chaos of a crowded marketplace. Acceptance of Risk and Potential Failure.  Compared to most corporate types, entrepreneurs will go that extra step and embrace far greater risk, but that doesn’t mean reckless risk, rather a very calculated risk. They are also far more w... 12/29/2011

  2012 Mortgage Rates look to Hold for first 6 months. There are two great articles to read, one from CNN Money last week on how mortgage rates are below 4% and the second saying how it looks like that in the first 6 months the mortgage rates will hold to these low points according to Freddie Mac.  This should help out the real estate market for the beginning of 2012 and Freddie Mac also said in its outlook forecast that housing activity will be better in 2012, but not robust.   David Popoff is a Connecticut license real estate agent in lower Fairfield County. He has lived and worked in the area for over 30 years and now reside in Darien since 2004. Member of the Multiple Listing Service, MLS. Darien  Greenwich  Greater Fairfield County Member of the Connecticut Association of Realtors,... 12/27/2011

    Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas & all the best in the New Year.       David Popoff is a Connecticut license real estate agent in lower Fairfield County. He has lived and worked in the area for over 30 years and now reside in Darien since 2004. Member of the Multiple Listing Service, MLS. Darien  Greenwich  Greater Fairfield County Member of the Connecticut Association of Realtors, CAR. Member of the National Association of Realtors, NAR. Green Affiliations. Realtor GREEN designation by the National Association of Realtors. David Popoff is an accredited LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP) Homes and USGBC member of the Connecticut chapter (CTGBC).   Associate member and an accredited Certified Green Professional (CGP) of National Association of Home Builders (NAH... 12/24/2011

30 Simple Green Tips for the New Year 2012. Here are 30 simple and easy ways to be environmentally conscious that you can incorporate into your daily routine. The majorities of them are very inexpensive and could actually save you money over time. Once you have started you will see how simple they are and will just become common sense habits. Please share your experience with friends.   1.      Replace toxic home cleaners with organic all natural cleaners or make your own such as baking soda and vinegar. 2.      Keep live plants nearby be it a cactus or leafy to freshen the air. 3.      Set up recycle center in your house and office for composting, paper, bottles & cans 4.      Conserve water, turn off water when washing dishes, shaving and brushing teeth. 5.      Use a snow shovel inst... 12/21/2011

 Holiday Flowers in Connecticut ~ Amaryllis. The amaryllis originated in South America's tropical regions and has the botanical name Hippeastrum. They are easy to bring to bloom and can be accomplished indoors or out over an extend period of time. The flower colors include red, rose, pink, white, orange, yellow, and pale green with variations on these including different colored stripes and edges on the petals. Some flowers have uniform colors or patterns on all six petals while others have more pronounced colors on the upper petals than on the lower ones. There are five types: 1) single flower; 2) double flower; 3) miniature; 4) cybister; and 5) trumpet. For more  information on planting, placement and watering click here.           David Popoff is a Connecticut license real estate age... 12/15/2011

Connecticut Housing Permits thru October 2011. With permits up the previous five months from June through October by 10% over 2010 it is hard to believe that this year will be the worst housing year in Connecticut on record. With total number of permits down 19% YTD compared to last year at 2,967 is a low number from the high of 2004 which was at 10,344. To read more click here to go to the Home Builders Association of Connecticut’s report. Year to date as of November 314 of those Connecticut homes are Energy Star qualified built.   With less new homes being built the Real Estate Market is staying relatively even compared to last year. Here in Connecticut the trend is showing the number of units selling state wide a little less to last year with a modest price increase on average.      ... 12/12/2011

Predicting 2011 Year End Housing Market Report, Darien, Connecticut. Dec. 6th, 2011. To get a snap shot of how the 2011 single family real estate market performed in Darien, Connecticut we are jumping the gun by a few weeks with the statistics. To see the Darien Condominium Market Report click here. 2011 Year to Date, YTD there have been 216 closings with another 23 pending offers. This compares to last year, 2010 of 248 home sales. If half of the pending sales close by year end we should be a little under the 2010 number of home sales. The average sales price has gone up 0.4% from to 2010 and currently is at around $1,682,629. Currently on the market there are 121 listings which is under the YTD average of 184. *This information is based on the Darien MLS and Raveis Housing Data which ... 12/06/2011

Learning From Your Local Top Producers ~ Understand Agent Branding. Not many of the top producers in our region have Blogs or Newsletters but the few that do I subscribe to. The reason for this is to learn from the best in my market area. One of the best top producing  agents and team leader in our company gets social media and uses it to the full benefit. He has a daily blog that is not necessary about housing statistics, market reports but about the philosophy of being in business for one self. A lot of his posts are daily lessons of life, what to do, what not to do, how to handle situations, words of advice and just plain common sense. One of my favorite posts that he recently wrote was “Understanding Agent Branding”. This is perfect timing for me since I am in the progress of implem... 12/06/2011

Darien, Connecticut’s Shuffle Referendum Vote December 13th, 2011.  As you drive through Darien you will notice many lawn signs popping up either in favour of the shuffle or not. The town has a referendum on December 13th on the shuffle and the debate is heating up.   The referendum vote is on the appropriation of $7 million for The Shuffle would move the senior center programs from Edgerton Street to Town Hall and the Board of Education offices from Town Hall to 35 Leroy Ave. VoteYesDarien.com are in favour of the shuffle.   The opponents to the shuffle, StopTheShuffle.com say that this is an unnecessary  use of tax payer’s money: Moving 30 full time Board of Education administers to the old library at a cost of $86,000 per employee 23,000 square foot senior center is too large and not... 12/05/2011

Yup, it is the beginning of December and time to do the outdoor decorations. Having the lights on a timer makes it easy, Happy Holidays.     David Popoff is a license Realtor in Connecticut with William Raveis office in Darien.   A life time resident of Fairfield County he has worked throughout lower Fairfield County for over 30 years and now resides in Darien, Ct since 2004.  Member of the Darien, Greenwich and Greater Fairfield County MLS. Member of the Connecticut Association of Realtors, CAR. Member of the National Association of Realtors, NAR. Green Affiliations. Realtor GREEN designation by the National Association of Realtors. David Popoff is an accredited LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP) Homes and USGBC member of the Connecticut chapter (CTGBC).   Associate member and an a... 12/04/2011

Open House Darien, Connecticut ~ December 4th, 2011.   There are 11 open houses in Darien, Connecticut this Sunday December 4, 2011 with 4 of them being condominiums. The price range of the homes are from $725,000 for a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1,216 square foot home to $3.45 Million dollar home new construction with 5 bedrooms, 5 ½ baths at 5,700 square feet. The 4 condo’s run from $450,000 up to $779,000. Most of the open houses run from 1 to 3 pm with a few starting at 12 noon. To see more information on these open houses and in other areas click here and go to the ‘Open House’ tag.   David Popoff is a license Realtor in Connecticut with William Raveis office in Darien.   A life time resident of Fairfield County he has worked throughout lower Fairfield County for over 30 years and now resi... 12/02/2011

New Darien, CT listings Around $1 Million. This week 3 new listings came on the Darien, Connecticut market just around $1,000,000. All three are on lots under a half acre and walking distance to the train station. Darien is a 55 minute train ride to Manhattan via Metro-North.  All three homes are on side streets actually all three are on dead end side streets. All three are on public water and sewer and have garage parking. Currently there are 130 residential homes for sale and 8 condominiums in Darien for sale on the MLS. 31 homes are under the asking price of $1,100,000. For more information on homes for sale in Darien and lower Fairfield County call David at 203-228-0646 or take a look at the website for up to date listings.       *This information is based on the Darien MLS and is d... 12/01/2011

  Green Energy Efficient Homes in Connecticut. November 30, 2011. Connecticut Green Building is making progress with over 8,000 homes already built and more to come. These energy efficient homes do not have to be expensive as shown in the case of the 2011 “House of the Year” awarded by the Builders Association of Eastern Connecticut.  This new 1600 square foot ultra-green and affordable home is at a cost of $220,000. Currently in Darien, Connecticut a new residential development consisting of eight smart-sized ‘green’ sustainable custom single family homes is under way with the first one priced at $1,395,000. This unit is a 3 bedroom, 3 ½ bathrooms, and two car garage unit with approximately 2,800 square feet being fitted out with high end features. To read more on Noroton Green in Dari... 11/30/2011