Navigating the Glastonbury Real Estate Market: Insights on Available Homes, Demand, and Buyer Behavior

I was recently interviewed by a reporter for the New York Times doing a piece about Glastonbury.  She wanted to know why homebuyers flock to our beautiful town.  Of course I shared all the benefits and amenities our town has to offer.  What would you say is the #1 reason you love living here?

There are 39 available homes on the market in Glastonbury. This has been one of the largest weekly increases in available homes we have seen over the last few months. There are finally more homes on the market in different price points which is a huge relief for buyers that really do need a home. These listing-starved buyers finally have some choices. However, multiple offers on homes are still happening. While we had a surge in new listings, it still doesn't meet the overall demand for the amount of buyers looking. What do buyers value the most in looking for a home? Buyers are looking for turn-key homes and are willing to increase their budgets to get a home they can move into without necessitating a large remodeling project. Simply put, if you had a home in 2019 that needed a kitchen and before you listed, you remodeled, you would have likely got back about half the value. In today's market, your return on that investment is about 100% of what you are putting into the home and then some. Updated kitchen and baths are very high on buyer's checklists. Homes that feature these new updates, have public utilities with gas heat in a neighborhood with a flat yard: watch out for the stampede of buyers coming your way.  

We are seeing offers on homes upwards of 100k over-ask in some cases and buyers willing to waive all contingencies. I saw an offer with  50% put down in earnest money deposit sending a strong message to the seller they would not default and would be the buyer to get to the closing table. To that point, when a seller is reviewing offers, they look at price, terms and conditions. The buyer writing the offer that poses the least amount of risk to a seller is likely the offer chosen.

Per MLS in Glastonbury:  We have NO homes under 300k and 3 homes are listed in the 300-400k range. 4 homes are listed in the 400-500k price point and 4 homes are listing in the 500-600k range. 4 homes are listed in the 600-699k range and 5 homes are listed in the 700-800. There is just 1 home now listed in the 800's and 9 are in the 900's.  9 homes are listed over 1million.  

Currently, there are 3 condos on the market in Glastonbury. With the prices of home continuing to be pushed upwards, condos make an affordable alternative for buyers.