2020 Year End Summary: Stratford, Connecticut Real Estate Market

As 2020 comes to a close, there is no sign of the housing market slowing down in Connecticut. According to Zillow (and from our own observations) Stratford’s 06614 zip code saw housing prices rise by an incredible 12.5% over the past 12 months. The upward trend is expected to continue by another 11.5% next year in 2021. Home prices continue to rise in Stratford as New Yorkers continue to flee high cost housing and high taxes to Fairfield County Connecticut’s relative bargain pricing. It truly is a bargain when compared to New York City and Westchester rates.

Historically, Stratford has been the most affordable town in Fairfield County. It largely still holds this title, though prices are rising to meet the strong demand from homebuyers looking for more space in town. Stratford is a mix of suburban and shoreline neighborhoods that experienced widespread development after World War II in the 1950’s through the 1960’s. For the most part, any land worthy of development has been developed long ago.

With strong prices and demand in 2020 however, new construction has taken off again in 06614. Developers have found the few remaining buildable lots to build on, now that prices support such development. Town officials seem eager to grant any permit that brings new tax base to town.

Lordship, the beautiful shoreline neighborhood has seen both tear-downs with new homes built as well as once vacant lots sold and permitted for new building. We also wrote about this beautiful new home newly constructed on Park Boulevard this year. In the Paradise Green neighborhood in the North-end of town, more new construction was seen at Cutspring road adjacent to the Mill River Country Club golf course. Three new homes all next to each other were built in 2020 with the third home nearing completion as of December 27, 2020.

Another new construction at the North-end located on Wakelee ave recently went under contract at $469,000 within just one week of being listed in the fall of 2020. On the West-end of town near the Bridgeport line, new construction is seen there, too. Perry lane has two new listings which are currently offered for customization (pre-construction) at $495,000 for 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom homes with two-car attached garages.

Fairfield County’s best kept secret, I’m afraid to say, is no longer a secret. With new buyers and investment coming in from New York, prices and a competitive market are here to stay for the foreseeable future.

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Information posted is merely the opinion of Time or Space for entertainment purposes only. All information published can be found in Town Records which is made available to the Public.

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The Best Real Estate Deal in Stratford’s Paradise Green as of October 22, 2020

If you’re house shopping in the North end neighborhood of Stratford, you might be looking for something – anything- affordable in the Paradise Green area. With multiple offers taking the most attractive homes off the market within days of being listed, it is challenging to find something good in today’s market. After looking around at homes listed in this area as of October 22, 2020 I have found one gem that is still available.

The home at 695 Wilcoxson Ave is a 3 bedroom 1.5 bathroom colonial offering 1,661 square feet of living space on a 4,792 square foot lot. This pre-war home was built in 1918 and offers a ton of charm with stucco siding, large windows, arched interior doorways, hardwood floors and a fireplace. The overbuilt design elements of prewar homes are just charming. After World War II, homes were built cheaper and faster to quench the demand of the booming suburbs. They just don’t build them like they used to.

695 Wilcoxson Ave

This home is listed at $284,900 and has been on the market for over two months. Considering the speed and competition with which surrounding homes are going for, it is surprising that this gem is still available. It is within walking distance just down the road from Wilcoxson Elementary school, one of the best grade schools in Stratford. The only downside that I can see with this home is that Wilcoxson Avenue is a busy road with quite a bit of traffic. However, the location is reflected in the price which still offers a great deal for this area. We think it will go contingent soon, as there is very little supply on the market today.

View from Charlton Street

This home also has an oversized two-car garage which is also unusual for the area. Most homes are lucky to have a single car garage, though the early prewar garages that are still standing are a real treat. The detached two-car garage makes a great workshop space or storage space.

Two Car Garage

To get notified when we post new homes for sale, subscribe to ourĀ email club here.

Information posted is merely the opinion of Time or Space for entertainment purposes only. All information published can be found in Town Records which is made available to the Public.

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886 Riverton Terrace, Stratford, CT 06614

This prewar 1936 colonial was listed just five days ago for an incredible asking price in today’s market. For some reason the seller appeared to grossly underprice the home, at an amazing ask of $244,900. Perhaps this was a brilliant strategy to create a lot of interest and spark a bidding war. This three bedroom, one bathroom home of 1,534 square feet is on an oversized lot of 0.26 acres. Whats more remarkable is this home is on a dead end street at the very north end of Paradise Green just below the Mill River Country Club.

This home looks to be in relatively good condition for the price, with various updates already made. This dead end street is one of the best streets in Paradise Green. The dead end would almost guarantee a very livable and safe street for a family with children. Its also a very quiet street due to being a dead end, where most streets in the neighborhood have a medium amount noise because of the through-traffic.

I heard there are at least 8 other offers on the house, maybe more. I am predicting that the house will likely sell for $30,000 over the asking price – around $274,900 is my guess. Even at this price, it looks like a great buy as it is very difficult to find a solid home in this price range on a dead end street in the neighborhood. It always comes down to the location. Two equivalent homes on different streets (different surroundings) cannot truly be considered comps. I will update this post to share what the sale price is once it becomes recorded in the public town records.

Since this is a larger than usual lot (double lot) the owners of this property over the years decided not to subdivide and sell the land for a new construction. Throughout Paradise Green, there are very few original lots of this size remaining, as most were split off and sold during the boom years of construction. Who can blame them? It must have been tempting to subdivide and sell off some land for a profit, and perhaps then sell your own home and move. Most lots in this neighborhood are half the size, non-conforming by today’s zoning standards, and are around 0.13 of an acre. This lot is still 0.26 of an acre, so there is a nice wide space between this home and the neighboring house to the right.

With that amount of space, I would relocate the driveway to the right side of the house and tear up the current one located on the left. I would then replant that left side with a lawn and add a wall of emerald green arbor vitae plantings for additional privacy as the neighboring house is close.

Stay tuned for new blog posts coming soon where I’ll share a few other rare original “double” lots that were never subdivided. There is one property on Reed Street and another around the corner from Reed on Meritine Ave with the original double lot size. These are cool to see because you can kind of imagine what the town used to look like before World War II, when the homes were more spaced out with larger yards and less population density.

To get notified when we post new homes for sale, subscribe to ourĀ email club here.

Information posted is merely the opinion of Time or Space for entertainment purposes only. All information published can be found in Town Records which is made available to the Public.