A “tidal wave” of buyers are fleeing the coronavirus-ravaged concrete jungle for Connecticut, creating an unexpected uptick in the real estate market, according to a new report.
Real estate agents told the Stamford Advocate that their well-to-do New York City clients have been snapping up single-family homes in areas like Westport, Greenwich, Litchfield County and east of New Haven.
“I think there’s going to be a trend of people renting and then buying second homes,” Candace Adams, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services New England Properties, told the Advocate. “I don’t know that they necessarily want to stay outside of the city — they just want to have an option to go someplace else.”
Holly Giordano, an agent for William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty, told the publication that sellers have been getting their asking price — and benefiting from bidding wars among eager buyers.
One property in Wilton sold for $1.9 million, she said — an all-cash deal.
“What I’ve seen more of is all my city clients are looking in Weston, Wilton, Ridgefield, Easton — areas that normally wouldn’t be someone’s go-to because of the train aspect … but when you are coming from the city, they feel very far,” Giordano said. “There was such an initial rush on all the rentals, that there’s hardly any left. … We’ve always benefited from the New York City market, but it’s just been a tidal wave.”
One homeowner in Westport received five offers in a day from city slickers.
“One … called me up and said, ‘Do you know of anything else?’” said Mark Pruner, an agent for Berkshire Hathaway Home Services New England Properties. “She lives in a beautiful, 10-story coop on Park Avenue in New York, but every time [she] gets in the elevator … she is afraid.”
The Post reported last month that other COVID-19-wary city dwellers have been packing up and shipping out — some for good.
Posted by New York Post
