DANBURY – Home buyers are showing a strong interest in the city, as the relatively slim housing market shows signs of growth over the past year, local real estate agents say.
Buyer demand, however, is still greater than the number of available homes in Danbury.
“People are competing for housing in Danbury, no doubt,” said Diane LaPine, a longtime city real estate agent who co-owns the Cornerstone Team at William Raveis Real Estate with her husband.
“We need more inventory for the buyers we have. We are still getting multiple offers on all properties that are priced right,” said LaPine, who is also a Danbury City Council member.
Mensah Robinson, a real estate salesperson with Coldwell Banker, agreed.
“We have a lot of people who are preapproved. They’re ready to buy and there’s nothing to buy,” he said.
Still, in a market that has seen fewer owners across Connecticut looking to sell their homes overall, compared to 2023, real estate agents have cause to be cautiously optimistic about Danbury. This past year, listings grew 16% and sales increased 7% in the city.
As 2024 comes to a close, the housing market in Danbury is outgrowing several Connecticut municipalities and the state overall, in both listings and sales. Statewide, the number of new real estate listings has slowed, according to a previous CT Insider analysis.
Real estate data shows the local inventory of available housing has increased, although at uneven levels, over the past year, LaPine said. For example, the number of single-family homes for sale increased by 27%, while the inventory for condominiums is “up only 12%.”
As of mid-December, Zillow showed 40 home listings in Danbury.
Real estate agents have other reasons to be optimistic. The sales to list price ratio in Danbury “has been stable,” at about 101.3 percent of sellers’ asking prices, LaPine said. And the average time a house was on the market was 24 days in 2024, compared to 36 a year earlier, she said.
The median sale price for both single-family homes and condos in the Danbury has increased more than 23 percent since before the COVID-19 pandemic, she said. According to the real estate site Zillow, that median home price was $456,456, as of November.
Despite that, “people want to move to Danbury because it’s still the most affordable Connecticut city in close proximity to New York City and Westchester,” LaPine said. Furthermore, there are attractions, including Candlewood Lake and Richter Park Golf Course, that also attract buyers, she said.
Still, there are reasons to be cautious. Mortgage rates are not expected to reduce considerably over the next year, real estate agents said. The Federal Reserve this week voted to cut its interest rate by a quarter-point, but it signaled it expects to reduce rates slowly in 2025, according to the Associated Press.
While some real estate agents saw an improved housing market in 2024, Kim Kendall, an associate broker with Keller Williams, said sales and inventory were both down.
“No, I did not do what I hoped to do this year,” Kendall said. “Market time for some listings is longer.”
Interest rates were a factor, she said, and buyers held out on purchasing homes while they awaited the results of the November presidential election.
“The election played a big part,” Kendall said. “Rates haven’t changed much in the last year.”
Buyers’ expectations have also changed as they become “more picky,” she said.
“They’re expecting for $500,000, ‘I’ll get a house with an in-law apartment,’” Kendall said. “That doesn’t exist.”
Selling homes at the higher end of the price range is “always more difficult,” she said, and anything “five or less is moving quickly – especially in Danbury.”
As of mid-December, she had three active listings, one of which had gone on the market that day. “It will go quickly. It’s a townhouse in Danbury.”
Buyers seem to be more willing to walk away from a potential purchase, Kendall said, saying they also seem more disinclined to buy a house that they are only somewhat interested in.
“In part, it’s the low inventory. I’m hopeful there will be more in the new year,” Kendall said.
Many homeowners have been reluctance to sell and purchase a new home because of interest rates, Robinson said. Many owners refinanced their mortgages during the pandemic to take advantage of lower interest rates. If they were to sell their homes and purchase new homes, they face higher borrowing rates.
Farley Santos, a state representative and economic development and community relations adviser for Danbury Mayor Roberto Alves, agreed that higher mortgage rates may deter some buyers.
Still, Santos said Danbury is “geographically blessed,” bordering New York, as a reason why home buyers flock to the city. Still, Santos said, there is “not enough inventory to keep up with demand.”
The city has “a good mix” in its housing stock, which includes single-family homes, apartments, condos and townhouses, he said.
Anne Stark, office leader and broker for Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices in Brookfield, said she expects a fairly healthy real estate market in Danbury in 2025 “as this will continue to be an affordable and desirable area to live.”
She also hopes “to see this uptick in new listings continue for 2025,” she said in an email.
Home sales are up in Danbury compared to other communities, because “we were lucky to have been the beneficiaries of many people leaving New York and moving to our area during COVID,” Stark said.
“The values of the properties they purchased have risen dramatically and now many are cashing in and reselling these properties,” she said.
Like LaPine, Stark said Danbury’s location and relative affordability make it attractive to would-be buyers.
“The home that one can purchase in the greater Danbury area versus towns such as Wilton, Westport and Fairfield for the same amount of money is much greater. With everything becoming more expensive, it is important to many people to find a way to make a difference and being able to save on housing can make a tremendous difference in your budget,” she said.
Stark also attributed the sales growth to the city’s diverse housing stock, including homes for first-time buyers, investment properties and waterfront properties.
Robinson agreed, saying the city has large single-family homes, along with smaller fixer-uppers and condos, as well as options for renters, which “a lot of surrounding areas don’t have,” Robinson said.
Danbury “has a lot of things going for it,” he said. “It is a nice central hub to a lot of different areas. Here, you have a mall, nice things. it gives a city feel without being a big city. Being on the border is a good thing for Danbury.”
[Collection]newstimes.com