Stratford – Page 2 – time or space

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

October 22, 2020October 23, 2020Blog, connecticut, Homes for Sale, paradise green, Stratford, UncategorizedLeave a Comment

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.

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.

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.

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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.

New Construction Completed on Lordship’s Margherita Lawn

October 21, 2020October 23, 2020Blog, connecticut, Lordship, new constructionLeave a Comment

Remember last week’s post about the rare double lots in Stratford, Connecticut? Well, it looks like another one has bitten the dust with the completion of a new subdivision. The owner at 98 Margherita Lawn has subdivided the property and sold it off for a new house to be constructed next door – or so we think. Based on town records, this empty lot next to 98 Margherita Lawn was last sold in 2004 for $74,166. It was just recently sold to a property developer in February 2019 for $130,000.

The owner of 98 Margherita Lawn appears to have also sold their house on August 20 of this year 2020 for $480,000. That home was last purchased in 2004 for $74,166. With the home sale and lot sale combined, that is not a bad payday! With home prices in Stratford getting frothy again, it looks like the property owner made a great choice cashing in and moving on. Then again, they will no longer live in this great community a short walk to the beach.

Taxes on the home in 2004 are listed as being $4,669. In 2020, property taxes have swelled to an incredible $11,771. That represents a 152% increase in property taxes in that period; meanwhile median wage growth has averaged only 3% growth per year. To see actual wage growth rate charts click here. Town governments can make it hard to hold onto a good thing.

So, what was constructed on this lot that sold for $130,000? A beautiful new cape style home with three dormer windows has just reached completion, and looks like it will be 100% complete very soon. With new construction there is no need to worry about home repair for a long time, which is a huge plus. We’ll keep you updated when the listing goes live.

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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.

The Smallest Single Family Home in Stratford’s Paradise Green

October 20, 2020October 23, 2020Blog, connecticut, paradise greenLeave a Comment

If you walk down the beautiful tree lined sidewalks of Paradise Green, a tiny, yellow home just might go unnoticed as you pass by. Not me, I think about that tiny gem every time. You are not forgotten, tiny home.

223 Reed Street is, what I believe to be, the smallest single family home in the Paradise Green neighborhood. It may even be the smallest home in all of Stratford. This one bedroom, one bathroom house has only 492 square feet of living space. That’s the area of a generously sized one-bedroom New York City apartment!

The lot size is also abnormally small, coming in at 3,920 square feet. Most older homes like this have non-conforming lot sizes which really just means that houses were built too close together by today’s standards. Most non-conforming lots are in the 5-6,000 square foot range, making 3,920 exceptionally small. These details might just give us a clue as to what was going on in the world when this home was built.

In September and October of 1929, Wall Street experienced the Great Crash. This crash happened long before safety measures were put in place to limit trading and protect people during a panic-causing market sell off. This was a very difficult time in America, one which put an end to the success of the roaring 1920’s. The recession that followed ultimately led to smaller homes being constructed and more modest investments.

This small yellow abode was built in 1930, right in the period of time where funding new construction must have been quite difficult. As someone who lives in a small 1930’s home myself, I often think about how the economy must have affected the lives of the people who lived in these small homes. While some who pass by may look down upon these unassuming homes, one thing is certain: those who live and have lived in them, are grateful to have them.

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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.

Moving from New York City to Connecticut in a Pandemic

October 18, 2020October 23, 2020Blog, connecticut, UncategorizedLeave a Comment

According to data recently reported by the New York Times, as many as 10,000 or more people fled New York City for the Connecticut suburbs in search of safety in the form of more space. The current pandemic that we are living through has forced many city residents to cut their time in NYC short and make the decision to buy a house a little earlier than maybe they had planned to. The situation has been especially hard on families with young children at home, where trying to balance working from home with the entire family sharing a small city apartment space has been challenging.

With the exodus from NYC to CT that began in Spring 2020, many people are evaluating the various communities and towns Connecticut has to offer. The further away from NYC you get, the more affordable and spacious housing becomes. Stamford, Greenwich and Darien are generally a 40-50 minute commute into Grand Central on Metro North which is one reason housing is so expensive in those towns. Further out, Westport becomes a great option for families, as this town offers some of the highest rated school systems in the entire country.

Choosing a community to live in is usually based on budget range and also what one is willing to compromise on. It’s no surprise that the Fairfield County towns with the best school systems close to New York City will have the most expensive homes. There are some bargains to be found within a reasonable commuting distance however, in towns like Fairfield and Stratford.

Stratford is currently the most affordable town in Fairfield County, though home prices are rising fast here too due to the small supply of available homes for sale. To read more about the state of the Connecticut housing market in Fairfield County, read our recent report here.

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91 Woodland Ave, Stratford, CT 06614

October 16, 2020October 22, 2020Blog, connecticut, Homes for Sale, paradise green, Stratford1 Comment

Now for sale is a super cute 1920 ranch style bungalow with 1,181 square feet of living space, three bedrooms and two bathrooms. This small vintage home was initially listed for $259,750 but after a recent price drop is now available at $235,000. Incredibly, this home was last sold in November 2016 for only $110,000 which was an incredible buy for this neighborhood.

This 100 year old home is unique to the surrounding area for several reasons: it has a stucco exterior, an unusually large lot size of 9,147 square feet and is a pre-war home. Most property lots in this area are approximately half that size, so they’re in the 5,250 square foot range. Prewar homes (built before 1935) are also more rare to find as the majority of the housing supply in Stratford was developed rapidly after World War II. They just don’t build them as well as these prewar homes anymore! Finally, the stucco exterior is not often seen in this neighborhood, which offers a warm vintage charm.

This little gem is also currently the cheapest single family home on the market right now in Paradise Green, with a large lot size that offers the potential for future expansion. Considering the house right next door is under contract (listing price $349,900) this home may offer a good opportunity for someone to buy, renovate and expand.

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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.

886 Riverton Terrace, Stratford, CT 06614

October 14, 2020October 22, 2020Blog, connecticut, Homes for Sale, paradise green, Stratford1 Comment

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.

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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.