Please Pay It Forward!! I attended Rain Camp all day yesterday --  WHAT AN INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF GREAT INFORMATION!   Well Done!!   I enjoyed every minute!    Rain Camp is an event run by the Active Rain (it's a real estate site) group. It's focus yesterday was on the new social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) and how to use them to our benefit. I certainly learned a lot, but also know how much I do not know...... I NEED another Rain Camp tomorrow! I returned home on the shuttle (first time - I'll admit I was nervous...) from Grand Central, and then the Metro-North train (first time for me- we always drive in) to find a request for me to send out a blog.  The train rides turned out to be quite alright, a little crowded, and I never got lost. I received an email from a fellow na... 01/13/2010

I am soo excited about this Active Rain!!!     I have always assumed that it would take years and years of blogging and a beautiful website, etc.  I have been semi-active with Active Rain now for three years, and put up a post on my blog occasionally.      I just looked at what would happen if I googled "Wilton CT real estate," and found that Active Rain was near the top of the first page, and I am featured, so it immediately  puts me out there!   The only competition on the first page was big brokerage houses, which is to be expected.   Perhaps I will surpass them also one day.   Hmmmm  ...  wouldn't that be interesting?      This just gave me an enormous amount of inspiration to continue and expand what I am doing!   The next thing that I would like to expand into is placing pictures ... 01/04/2010

I would certainly LOVE to upgrade my photo on my site, but do not have a clue as to what an HD Photo is.....     It is certainly a great idea to keep all of your sites totally up-to-date and spiffy all the time.  What a learning curve there is out there in this technology world!  Learning how to upload videos, maintaining all of these social marketing sites, as each day there are more and more sites!   Active Rain has all of the blogs and teaching tools ready for us.   I have enjoyed everything that I have learned, but always feel like the wave is catching up behind me.   There is so much new every day......    I have loved the idea of sharing photos, and ideas, and now, ....  questions!      What IS an HD photo?   Pictures can calm the soul and excite us too.  I have seen pictures on l... 01/04/2010

Whenever I conduct an Open House for a listing, whether the home is large or small, single family or condominium, I always bring loads of balloons to it. I love to use them to attach to signs to grab folks’ attention to come in, but I also love to have the balloons in the house. That way, it looks festive and welcoming.   If families come with children, it’s a great gift for the kids, and an ice breaker for the adults, if they are uncomfortable about being approached. However, there have recently been some open houses that have not had any children come at all. Now, I HATE to pop balloons that have not been enjoyed yet.   Anyone who knows me well, knows that I am HUGE on recycling. An unused balloon for me is the kiss of death. A couple of weeks ago, I finished an open house with 8 ball... 11/18/2009

Wilton also seems to be feeling the brunt of this Real Estate market.  While 75 Single Family homes have sold in the first seven months of the year, this trails last year by 24%.  This years performance is dramatically off the same period in 2007 where 150 homes were sold. Double the number for this year. The Average Selling Price came in at $851,893. This is down 21% from last year.  Like many surrounding towns, the highend segment has shown the biggest decline.  There was just one home that sold for over $2 Million so far in 2009.  Just two years ago, 15 homes priced over $2 Million sold in the first seven months of the year. The data shows that with plenty of homes on the market, low prices and low interest rates - the market is being driven by a lack of buyers.  On the reverse side,... 08/18/2009

ee why Wilton offers something for just about everyone...the wonderful school system for young families and the amenities and resources that appeal to a variety of tastes. Nestled in the Norwalk Valley, west of the town of Weston and only an hour from Grand Central, you'll find many commuters calling it home. Population approx. 17,333 The transformation from a small farming town to a suburban residential community has been carefully controlled by zoning and through the preservation of the town's older colonels. The two acre zoning is conducive to privacy and while the town has all the amenities for today's lifestyle, it also values it antiquity. That may be why, in April 1995, Connecticut Magazine named Wilton the top overall town in its size group. 10/08/2008

Wilton Homes for Sale July 2008  Wilton has a slightly different story than neighboring towns.  Sales are off as is typical in todays very challenging Real Estate market.  Inventories don't appear to have risen but this is not quite the full story. The town of Wilton has been going through a multi-year down cycle.  So sales have be sagging for the past 3-4 years.  The number of homes for sale has been high throughout this period so the levels haven't jumped as much year to year.  With sales off 40% from last year, the bottom line is the same - It is a buyers market and they are taking their time to shop around!     2007 2008   Jan 107 111 4% Feb 123 125 2% Mar 129 141 9% Apr 152 152 0% May 166 171 3% Jun 175 174 -1% Jul 169 174 3% Aug 156     Sep 147     Oct 163     Nov 159     Dec 141 ... 08/01/2008

Wilton Real Estate and Home Sales Update June 2008 The number of Single Family Homes sold in Wilton continues to decline.  The number of Closed Sales is off 40% for the first six months of this year compared to the same period in 2007.  Wilton is averaging just over 12 homes sold per month. Prices seem relatively stable.  The small number of homes sold could skew these sales numbers a little but they seem to be telling the correct story.  With 174 homes for sale, this translates into a 15 month lead time to sell a home on average.  A two year market time is longer than most sellers would like to wait..... WILTON Update Year to Date Sales of Single Family Homes As of June 30                            2008 2007 08 vs 07 2006 08 vs 06 Closes 74 123 -40% 131 -44% Median Price $990,000 $931... 07/15/2008

Wilton Real Estate TrendsApril 2008The Good News is that Wilton Housing inventory is even with last year.  The Bad News is that this continues a 4 year slide in homes sales in the Town of Wilton.  Even while many surrounding towns in Fairfield County have performed well, Wilton has slumped.  Not that the past few years have been great for the county but "up and down" looks really good compared to "down and down and down".....so we continue to watch and wait for the big Wilton turnaround. Month/Year    20072008 Jan1071114%Feb1231252%Mar1291419%Apr1521520%May166  Jun175  Jul169  Aug156  Sep147  Oct163  Nov159  Dec141   04/26/2008

Wilton Real Estate and Home Sales UpdateMarch 31, 2008The sales of homes in Wilton continues to drop.  Closed Units are off 33% from the first three months of 2007.  This slide has been developing for several years now.  The number of homes sold is off 42% from 2006.  While the Median Price of a Home has been amazingly stable, the Average Selling Price is down due to fewer high end sales. WILTON UpdateYear to Date Sales of Single Family HomesAs of March 30              2008200708 vs 07200608 vs 06Closes2639-33%45-42%Median Price$900,000$891,0001%$907,500-1%Avg Selling Price$1,067,231$1,175,004-9%$1,201,822-11%                         Prepared by the TETREAU Real Estate Group from W. Raveis Real Estate  04/25/2008

Wilton Real Estate and Home Sales UpdateFebruary 2008Wilton Home Sales continue to struggle.  This year is starting off slower in unit sales than the prior two years.  Keep in mind that the last two years were not great performances by any measure.   The sliver of hope is that prices seem to be showing some strength.  Again we are left waiting for the Fed Reserve to make it decision on interest rates and the next 2-3 months to see which way the trend moves --- up or back down....The lowest priced home so far was 32 West Church - a 3 Bedroom Colonial with 1,744 SF on .4 Acres built in 1860.  It sold for $365,000.  The highest priced home was 378 Nod Hill - a 5 Bedroom Colonial on 4.21 Acres built in 1999. It sold for $2,940,000. WILTON Update Year to Date Sales of Single Family Homes As ... 03/15/2008

Wilton Real Estate and Home Values - January 2008 UpdateThe Wilton Real Estate market continues its trend of slow starts to the year.  2006 and 2007 were definitely "off" years for the local housing market.  This year seems to be following that trend with only 10 sales in January.  While it is still too soon to project how the year will finish, the next two months become crucial.  Wilton has been suffering from a lack of unit sales - or a lack of buyers in the market.  This makes real estate investments less liquid and puts downward pressure on prices.  The top sale so far this year is $2,940,000 spent on 378 Nod Hill Road for a 7,000SF home on 4+ acres.For more information on all the homes for sale in Wilton and the rest of Fairfield County, please visit my web site at http://www.tetre... 02/14/2008

Wilton Yearend Update - 2007The Wilton Real Estate market has really cooled off!  After enjoying a decade of one of the most valued towns in Fairfield County, the tables have turned.  Units Sold are off 12% from 2006 - as we all know one of the worst years for home sales in the entire county.  The really bad news is this continues a trend.  The 220 homes sold is down 34% from 2005!  This is the largest drop in sales for a town in this area - matched only by the drop in Bridgeport.In most surrounding towns, prices are flat to trending up.  Here we find prices are flat to trending down.  The high end sales really tell the story.  In 2007, we had 19 homes sell for over $2 Million including one for over $3 Million (a Ridgefield Road home sold for 3.125 Million).  In 2006, we saw 20 homes se... 02/02/2008

 Click on the Logo to go to RuthmanRE.com   Current Market Analysis - Wilton, Fairfield County - August to November  StatusClassTypeAreaNo. of ListingsDollar VolumeAverage PriceMedian PriceAverage DOM                  Active Listings156$227,626,641$1,459,145$1,125,000103Listings Under Contract21$27,867,500$1,327,024$1,098,000114Listings Sold 200729$28,126,150$969,867$845,000145         ACTIVE         Single Family         Single Family Detached         WILTON134$198,089,497$1,478,280$1,179,000105Sub Total134$198,089,497$1,478,280$1,179,000105REDUCED PRICE         Single Family         Single Family Detached         WILTON12$15,652,745$1,304,395$799,373115Sub Total12$15,652,745$1,304,395$799,373115CONTINUE TO SHOW         Single Family         Single Family Detached         WILTON6$7,668... 11/20/2007