Greenwich 2023 Real Estate Market Report by School Districts

North Street School District

Sales YTD:           4

Contracts:           23

Inventory:           25

Sold DOM:          16

North Street school district is where today’s action is. We’ve only had 4 sales so far this year but look at those 23 contracts. One of them is my and my brother’s listing that went to a non-contingent contract in 8 days from the date it went active. In fact, of the 23 contracts outstanding only 4 are contingent contracts, i.e., with a mortgage contingency. Cash is more than king, it is the emperor.

The 25 listings also means that buyer’s actually have something to buy. Sixteen days on market is tight so if you want to buy here bring cash or roll the dice and waive the mortgage contingency. (This is a lot easier to do if you are underwritten pre-approved by your mortgage broker. Unless a listing has been on for more than 2 months, your chances of winning a bidding war are slim in a multiple bid situation if you have a 45-day mortgage contingency.)

North Mianus School District

Sales YTD:           2

Contracts:           9

Inventory:           6

Sold DOM:          73

North Mianus is another very competitive school district. It actually has more contracts than sales or inventory. You also shouldn’t take much solace in that 73 average days on market. It consists of 1 sale listed for 145 days and one listed for 0 days, i.e., an off-market sale.

Julian Curtiss School District

Sales YTD:           3

Contracts:           3

Inventory:           20

Sold DOM:          264

This school district covers three distinct areas; Chickahominy, our high-end waterfront (Belle Haven, Mead Point and Indian Harbor) and downtown Greenwich. Each one has a different market demand. Chickahominy has no inventory. In  Chickahominy, parents don’t sell their houses they hand them down to their kids.

The waterfront communities have many of the highest priced listing in town and no sales so far. That not that unusual as high-end houses generally don’t sell when the crocuses are blooming, but rather go with the roses starting in late spring. They use to sell earlier, but most financial people no longer get a big cash bonus at the beginning of the year. Bonuses are spread out over several years and often paid in restricted stock.  

Downtown Greenwich has had all of the sales so far this year, since most of our 20 listings in the Julian Curtiss district that are under $5 million are located downtown.

Cos Cob School District

Sales YTD:           3

Contracts:           1

Inventory:           6

Sold DOM:          73

In Cos Cob, buyers need to be ready to move quickly as low inventory has meant low sales. Right now you have a choice of 6 listings. Remember though that 4 other people moved quickly and have already beat you to the other listings that came on. Once again, it helps to be good friends with a contractor as those houses that need work still take some time to sell, well at least sometimes they take more time to sell. If you want to live in Cos Cob and you like the house, put in an offer now.

Riverside School District

Sales YTD:           2

Contracts:           6

Inventory:           8

Sold DOM:          9

Riverside had only 2 of our 15 sales in February and we matched that number in the first 6 days of March. The average sales price of those 4 sales is over $5 million. You can be reasonably sure that there are other sales that were sold privately and weren’t reported, which is optional. Of the four sales in Riverside, two were off market and the other two went pending in  8 days and 13 days.

There’s a reason half the sales have been off market. If you announce in your office, that you have a possible Riverside listing, not only do people from your firm stop by to see you, but two days later some agent from a firm you haven’t heard in Westport calls you asks when you are going to have the Riverside listing signed.

Dundee School District

Sales YTD:           3

Contracts:           4

Inventory:           1

Sold DOM:          158

Dundee school district and Dundee enrollment are different. As an international baccalaureate school, Dundee accepts students from a variety of areas in Greenwich. As you might expect it’s very popular with our international community, most of whom aren’t in the school district.

The Dundee school district is a small area of Old Greenwich on both sides of the Post Road. Students there get into Dundee by right, which was given them when they were redistricted out of the Old Greenwich school district decades ago. A lot of our more affordable houses are in our R-7 zone that like the Dundee school district straddle the Post Road. (If you are looking here, it’s a good time to read my previous articles in the Sentinel on combat buying which are Googleable.)

Old Greenwich School District

Sales YTD:           5

Contracts:           6

Inventory:           7

Sold DOM:          32

Five sold, six under contract, seven houses in inventory; bring money if you want to buy in the Old Greenwich school district. None of the 7 listings on the market are under $3 million. (One of the 7 listings actually went to contract while I was writing this article, so we are down to 6 listings.)

So, what is a buyer to do? Go where the crowds aren’t. We have 150 listings, (that also went up one listing while I was writing this article.) Of those 150 listings, 90 of them have been on for more than three months. Those owners are getting antsy, the new spring listings are coming on and many of the owners with holdover listings want to make a deal. If you’ve looked before, look again.

Of course, it helps if you have money. Of those 90 older listings, 77 of them are over $2.5 million. If you see a house that you like, but it’s only a little higher than you want to pay, go see it and make a good offer. You never know what is going to happen.