Simply Ledyard CT

Ledyard Memorial Day Events

On Sunday May 29th, the 25th annual Memorial Day Parade will be held starting at 1PM at the Ledyard Fair Grounds. The fairgrounds are located between Ledyard Center School and The First Congregational Church on Route 117. Free parking  is available at Ledyard Middle School and Ledyard High School. A shuttle will be provided.

On Monday May 28th,  beginning at noon,  members of the Ledyard Police Department, K9 unit, and ACO will be at Cows and Cones in Gales Ferry for a meet and greet. 

Kids and adults will be able to look inside the police cruisers, see the lights etc, and then experience a K9 demonstration around 1:00pm. Kimlyn Marshal from the ACO will also be present to display various animals. The Ledyard Police Union will also be handing out tickets to all the children to redeem for a free ice cream.

The Ledyard Food Pantry is low, so they will also be collecting non perishable food items during the day.

Ledyard Real Estate Update

I just returned from the National Association of Realtors Mid-Year meetings in Washington DC, where the news was much more positive than a year ago. Although prices are not increasing in most areas of the country including Connecticut, there are many other signs of improvement.

National Association of Realtors® Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said there are many improving factors that are helping home sales. "Smart money, largely from investors responding to low home prices and rising rents, is chasing real estate, and we could see a potential surge once the broad perception of homeownership changes to that of an appreciating asset," Yun said.

"We just finished the strongest first quarter for home sales in five years, pending contracts are pointing to a strong second quarter, and the favorable conditions are helping the economy recover from an unusual slowdown in household formation in recent years with more young people now leaving their parents' homes."

“Despite a minor gain in total home sales last year, owner-occupied sales fell. "A recovery in investment- and vacation-home sales and a high proportion of all-cash deals are hiding the current dysfunctional mortgage market," Yun said. "Tight mortgage credit is holding back a stronger recovery. Banks are hoarding cash, possibly from regulatory uncertainties and lawsuits."

"Home sales had been basically flat from 2008 through 2011. Yun forecasts 4.6 to 4.7 million existing-home sales in 2012, up strongly from 4.26 million last year, and additional improvement in 2013 with sales rising to the range of 4.7 to 4.8 million."

"Mortgage interest rates are projected to rise gradually and then average 4.9 percent in 2013 - still historically favorable. "The pressure of rising rents on consumer inflation could force the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in 2014, which might be good for home sales."

Below you will find a link to Ledyard Real Estate statistics provided by Real Market Reports. This report includes all Ledyard Home Sales as reported to the Connecticut Multiple Listing Service during the past 6 months.

Link to Ledyard Real Estate Statistics

On May 13th, Ledyard Real Market Reports show a total of 68 contracts have closed in the last 6 months with an average sold price of $215,452 and average days on market of 97. The average list price (asking price) of homes currently on the market is $269,000.

The $150,000 - $250,000 price range contains the highest # of sold listings during the past 6 months. A total of 63 listings have expired in that same time period. The $250,000 - $300,000 price range has the highest number of expired listings at 20 properties. Listings may expire for many reasons such as being priced too high, having been inadequately marketed, the property was in poor condition, or perhaps the owner had second thoughts about selling at this particular time. 

Ledyard Snapshot

Number of Homes Sold in 2012 - 56
127 residential homes sold in Ledyard in 2011

139 residential homes sold in Ledyard in 2010.

149 residential homes sold in Ledyard in 2009.

143 residential homes sold in Ledyard in 2008.

     213 residential homes sold in Ledyard in 2007.   
  
The higest priced home to sell in 2012:  $392,000

There were 6 new listings, 8 pending sales and 3 closed sales reported in the past 7 days.

Listings and sales reported by the members of the CT Multiple Listing Service, Inc and may not represent all sales.
Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Photo Friday - My view

I'm in Washington DC this week attending the annual National Association of Realtors Midyear Legislative Meetings. I never get tired of the views from here.

Mrs. Davis goes to Washington

Although not  in the same capacity as Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith goes to Washington, this Ledyard Realtor will  be in Washington DC this week to attend the National Association of Realtors Midyear Legislative Meetings and Trade Show.  It is an annual event where industry leaders gather for legislative updates, committee meetings, special issues and the industry trade show.

I've attended the event for several years but this year I've been named a featured attendee and a contributor to MidYear Live.  I'll be blogging and taking photos of the event from my iPad and iPhone. As long as I have a good wifi connection, and the creek don't rise, my contributions will be posted at my Real Estate Solutions Blog.

By the way, if you have never seen the 1939 movie, Mr. Smith goes to Washington, it really is a wonderful and award winning movie that leaves an impression.

Ledyard Real Estate Update

The news in Ledyard real estate this week is creeping inventory. Rising inventory is not unusual for this time of year but it is something to monitor. 10% of the current inventory had a price reduction this week. This is not unexpected either as the average list price is $269,900 while the average sold price is $216,784. That gap needs to narrow a bit to decrease the days on market average time of 98 days.

Here's a good news story. I listed a home for $172,900 this week and immediately had 8 showings and 4 offers. What's the secret?  Priced at market value and although dated, was in mint condition.

Below you will find a link to Ledyard Real Estate statistics provided by Real Market Reports. This report includes all Ledyard Home Sales as reported to the Connecticut Multiple Listing Service during the past 6 months.

Link to Ledyard Real Estate Statistics

On May 6th, Ledyard Real Market Reports show a total of 66 contracts have closed in the last 6 months with an average sold price of $216,784 and average days on market of 98. The average list price (asking price) of homes currently on the market is $269,900.

The $150,000 - $250,000 price range contains the highest # of sold listings during the past 6 months. A total of 63 listings have expired in that same time period. The $250,000 - $300,000 price range has the highest number of expired listings at 22 properties. Listings may expire for many reasons such as being priced too high, having been inadequately marketed, the property was in poor condition, or perhaps the owner had second thoughts about selling at this particular time. 

 

Ledyard Snapshot

Number of Homes Sold in 2012 – 53

127 residential homes sold in Ledyard in 2011

139 residential homes sold in Ledyard in 2010.

149 residential homes sold in Ledyard in 2009.

143 residential homes sold in Ledyard in 2008.

     213 residential homes sold in Ledyard in 2007.     
The highest priced home to sell in 2012:  $392,000

 There were 8 new listings, 3 pending sales and 2 closed sales reported in the past 7 days.

Listings and sales reported by the members of the CT Multiple Listing Service, Inc and may not represent all sales.
Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Photo pictured above is my new listing on 1722 Center Groton Road in Ledyard

Ledyard Photo Friday

I shot this peanut bag photo a couple years ago in the local Stop and Shop.  It seems appropriate to show it again this time of year.  If you live in Connecticut, you have a few choices when it comes to baseball teams and peanuts. So which kind of fan are you?  Yankees or Red Sox? Or something else?

Ledyard Real Estate Update

I spent last week at RE/MAX International in Denver with a small group of technology geeks. It is always interesting to hear about how business is conducted in other parts of the country. As far as market conditions, most agents are reporting the same news as we are finding here in Ledyard. The number of home sales are up, yet sales prices are down. Interest rates all around the country are at their lowest level ever. Short sales and foreclosures are frustrating but inevitable.

The 2 days I spent at the conference gave me the opportunity to learn about new tools to help my clients as well as witness first hand the amazing REMAX network.

 

Below you will find a link to Ledyard Real Estate statistics provided by Real Market Reports. This report includes all Ledyard Home Sales as reported to the Connecticut Multiple Listing Service during the past 6 months.

Link to Ledyard Real Estate Statistics

On April 30th, Ledyard Real Market Reports show a total of 64 contracts have closed in the last 6 months with an average sold price of $216,027 and average days on market of 102. The average list price (asking price) of homes currently on the market is $271,741

The $200,000 - $250,000 price range contains the highest # of sold listings during the past 6 months. A total of 69 listings have expired in that same time period. The $250,000 - $300,000 price range has the highest number of expired listings at 21 properties. Listings may expire for many reasons such as being priced too high, having been inadequately marketed, the property was in poor condition, or perhaps the owner had second thoughts about selling at this particular time. 

Ledyard Snapshot

Number of Homes Sold in 2012 - 51
127 residential homes sold in Ledyard in 2011

139 residential homes sold in Ledyard in 2010.

149 residential homes sold in Ledyard in 2009.

143 residential homes sold in Ledyard in 2008.

     213 residential homes sold in Ledyard in 2007.  
   
The higest priced home to sell in 2012:  $392,000

There were 10 new listings, 4 pending sales and 4 closed sales reported in the past 7 days.

Listings and sales reported by the members of the CT Multiple Listing Service, Inc and may not represent all sales.
Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

The Wes Johnson Memorial Highway

The stretch of Route 214 between Route 117 and Route 12 was officially recognized yesterday as the Wesley J. Johnson Sr. Memorial Highway in honor of Wes Johnson, former mayor, volunteer and an old friend. The Day published an article about the occasion but I thought I’d repeat a blog post I wrote about Wes in November 2008,  just a few days after his death:

Wes Johnson and I worked together at Boyer Real Estate in Gales Ferry back in the early 1980’s.  We instantly became friends when we realized we had something in common; our passion for politics.  Wes encouraged me to get involved in the Ledyard community. He put my name forward as an appointment to the Parks and Recreation Commission, and then as a member of the Ledyard Republican Town Committee.  Yes, he was a good Republican back then.  Turns out he wasn’t such a good real estate agent, and years later joked about how he would take the bus to the office so he wouldn’t have to show houses.

With just a little nudge from Wes, I decided to run for a seat on the Ledyard Board of Education. He served on the Town Council during my tenure. Wes and I loved talking politics; local, state and national. We analyzed every race and poured over post election statistics. In fact, for many years, our tradition was to meet for breakfast the day after the election. I was his campaign manager the first time he ran for mayor, and despite a disappointing loss, we met for breakfast to analyze the results. It was tradition, win or lose.

In the early 90’s, Wes and I become disillusioned with the leadership of the local Republican party and we made the front page of the New London Day newspaper when we ceremonially went to town hall together to change our party affiliation. Wes became a Democrat. I really wanted him to remain unaffiliated but he needed to contribute his time and efforts to a political party.  I became unaffiliated for a few years and then went home to the Republican Party when the leadership changed. It was awkward to find myself campaigning against Wes but I know he understood. It was politics and no one understood that better than he did. Being political opponents ended the days of discussing strategy and analyzing election returns. Years later, we found ourselves on the opposite sides of the aisle as members of the Ledyard Town Council. During his last term of office, we’d often reminisce about the “good old days”.  No one could tell a story or a joke better than Wes. When we were on opposite sides of an issue, I’d see a twinkle in his eye.  He was pretty easy on me but he wasn’t so kind to my fellow Republicans.  No one knew Robert’s Rules as well as he did, and he often used them to his advantage. .

Despite his illness, Wes was recently appointed to the Ledyard Charter Revision Commission. We had served on a previous Charter Revision Commission together in 1985.  Several weeks ago, I sent him a card and mentioned our past service together. His most recent appointment was just one of a very very long list of contributions to the Town of Ledyard.

Wes Johnson died Sunday morning.  I can’t help but think of all those “a politician went to heaven” jokes.

Ledyard Real Estate Update

The news can be mighty confusing. One day you read how real estate sales are booming and the next day you hear the news that prices are still dropping. Both statements are true as far as Ledyard Real Estate. 

We have started off the year better than the last several and the spring market is quite busy. As a point of comparison, at the end of April 2010, I reported 24 closed sales in Ledyard. Today there are 47. While more homes are being sold, prices have not increased. As a result, many of our sales are "short sales", foreclosures or sellers who can afford to sell due to their equity position or the ability to bring cash to the closing. Some sellers simply cannot afford to sell their homes.

Next time you hear that sales are up nationwide, understand that the report is referring to the number of sales, not the average price. It's a good news/bad news scenario.

Below you will find a link to Ledyard Real Estate statistics provided by Real Market Reports. This report includes all Ledyard Home Sales as reported to the Connecticut Multiple Listing Service during the past 6 months.

Link to Ledyard Real Estate Statistics

On April 22nd, Ledyard Real Market Reports show a total of 60 contracts have closed in the last 6 months with an average sold price of $207,450 (trending down) and average days on market of 104. The average list price (asking price) of homes currently on the market is $267,350.

The $200,000 - $250,000 price range contains the highest # of sold listings during the past 6 months. A total of 70 listings have expired in that same time period. The $250,000 - $300,000 price range has the highest number of expired listings at 22 properties. Listings may expire for many reasons such as being priced too high, having been inadequately marketed, the property was in poor condition, or perhaps the owner had second thoughts about selling at this particular time. 

 

Ledyard Snapshot

Number of Homes Sold in 2012 - 47
127 residential homes sold in Ledyard in 2011

139 residential homes sold in Ledyard in 2010.

149 residential homes sold in Ledyard in 2009.

143 residential homes sold in Ledyard in 2008.

213 residential homes sold in Ledyard in 2007.     
The higest priced home to sell in 2012:  $392,000

There were 3 new listings, 8 pending sales and 5 closed sales reported in the past 7 days.

Listings and sales reported by the members of the CT Multiple Listing Service, Inc and may not represent all sales. 
Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Photo Update: CVS is coming to Gales Ferry

For my friends around the country who read this blog, you must think all the talk about a drug store is pretty crazy.  Please forgive us as we haven’t had a drug store in Ledyard  for several years so we are pretty excited about it. Excited enough to take photos of the progress.