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Dear Neighbor,

Each summer we take stock of how the previous 12 months of the real estate market have fared nationally, regionally, town wide and even down to your neighborhood.

While the last quarter traditionally maintains strong sales, this third quarter reflection is a good barometer to measure the health of the market.

Nationally we are seeing the high growth areas, primarily the major cities, booming as foreign money and urban renewal are stoking value increases. However, there has been slippage in markets that had a considerable amount of distressed properties as those "deals" are bought up constricting buying opportunities.

In Connecticut we are seeing a stable market with sales reflecting national trends. In a press release to the media last Friday, Connecticut REALTORS reported that single-family residential home sales in Connecticut decreased 1.4% comparing July 2014 to July 2013.The median sales price of $277,750 represents a 4.7% decrease from $291,500 in that same time period. Median indicates that half the homes sold for more and half for less. Total units sold were 3,288 in July 2014 and 3,335 in July 2013.

The local real estate market is slightly more active and incrementally getting healthier. Data shows that 2014 was even stronger than 2013 in Kent.

Confidence continues to be the main factor in the solidification of values. As the local market is primarily driven by metropolitan New York, we are seeing more prospects who are confident that they can buy a weekend home and not feel they are putting themselves at financial risk. Simply put, people are more confident in the future and secure in their job. Those seeking a value oriented property to relax and enjoy on weekends are able to find it.

There are more listings on the market (56) than last year at this time (49). Historically we are well below the transaction numbers of the hay days (2004-2006) but we are much healthier on the average selling price and, as importantly, the days it takes to sell a house.

Date Sales Av. List Price Market Time Av. Sales Price

2001-02 40 $469,000 148 Days on $423,554

2002-03 37 $505,000 103 Days on $471,000

2003-04 38 $481,000 143 Days on $449,000

2004-05 48 $613,000 116 Days on $565,000

2005-06 41 $690,000 122 Days on $639,000

2006-07 29 $760,000 168 Days on $695,000

2007-08 29 $1,062,000 125 Days on $957,000

2008-09 28 $675,000 161 Days on $585,000

2009-10 27 $1,127,545 226 Days on $1,012,698

2010-11 21 $423,000 192 Days on $379,000

2011-12 28 $591,299 212 Days on $523,515

2012-13 25 $433,000 299 Days on $410,300

2013-14 23 $815,491 146 Days on $748,010

The Skiff Mountain neighborhood has seen only one sale and that was a direct sale to the Marvelwood School. Initially listed for $328,000, the 3 bedroom, 2 bath log home with 1900 sq. ft. at 395 Skiff Mountain Road sold for $295,000 very quickly.

There are four homes listed in the area that range from the mid $200,000's up to $549,000. One in particular that Toni Soule of our firm has listed is a 1929 Cape style home at 119 Macedonia Road for $225,000. With 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms on nearly an acre of land, it maintains a lovely country feeling with old floor boards, wood beamed ceilings and a large fireplace. Requiring some work, it is in that affordable range that suits the market place.

I hope you find this information useful and we wish you a wonderful autumn!

To provide you with more information these letters are archived on our website: www.bainrealestate.com. Look for "Neighborhood Sold Stats" on the home page. There you will find other Kent neighborhood letters. We have also added all the houses for sale in Kent and surrounding towns that are in the MLS system to our website! This means that you need only to go to our site to find any and all the properties in your neighborhood, Kent or the fourteen towns we serve. We have also added videos to our site to improve and sharpen the marketing of homes. Video is the medium our customers are used to so we are on the cutting edge and the only ones using them in the area. Please check them out! If you have any questions, give us a call and we'll let you know about properties in the neighborhood! And until then be well and enjoy the onset of autumn.

Respectfully,

David Bain

Chris Garrity

And the Kent office- Toni Soule, Marilyn DeVos, Scott Harvey and Eve Iselin

Please note that not all listings and sales transactions are through David Bain Real Estate