Greenwich CT Home Sales Plunge 84% in January, Broker Reports

[marmar]

Greenwich, Connecticut, Home Sales Plunge 84 Percent in January
By Oshrat Carmiel


Feb. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Greenwich, Connecticut home sales plunged 84 percent in January from a year earlier as Wall Street losses mounted and financial companies cut jobs, said John Cooke, a broker with Prudential Connecticut Realty.

Seven Greenwich homes sold in January compared with 44 the same month of 2008, according to Prudential data. The average price climbed 5 percent to $3.4 million, driven by the sale of one $10 million property.

“Buyers are hesitant because of the economy in general,” Cooke said. “They don’t think the bottom has happened yet.”

The town of about 61,000 people lies an hour’s drive northeast of Manhattan and is known as the nation’s hedge fund capital because more than 100 such companies are based there. The median home price in Greenwich dropped the most in three decades last year as demand from financiers slumped.

January sales included one house sold for more than $5 million, compared with six in that price range in the same period in 2008. Two properties sold for between $3 million and $4 million; two for $2 million to $3 million; one for $1 million to $1.5 million; and one for between $400,000 and $600,000.

Property sales in Greenwich are closely linked to the fortunes of Wall Street and the financial industry, Cooke said.

At least half of the town’s sales are to buyers who work in financial services, he said.


http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601213&sid=aW3f58FHPo34&refer=home

[The_Casual_Observer]

1. Seven is still a lot at those prices & this economy.

[SoCalDem]

2. Most people are not eager to jump onto a sinking ship..n/t

[Lost in CT]

3. Times are tough all over. nt