Is the Shoreline Recovering?

For the past few years, we've had a glut of Shoreline properties in the higher price ranges.  Some towns had as much as a five-year supply.  Lately, there have been many sales reported over a  million dollars.  The latest big news, the sale of Rogers Island  in the Thimbles for $21.5 million dollars, has prompted us to wonder whether there is a broader recovery going on.

Hurricanes Irene and Sandy, coming back to back in 2011 and 2012, left many people with a fear of waterfront properties.  One hurricane is a wake-up call for preparation, but two caused many to rethink risk.  Even with global warming, we all know that, statistically, hurricanes will not occur every year.  We also know that many houses are better built and higher up than homes used to be.  And, of course, it's now been 6 years since Sandy hit, and the lure of the Sound is greater again, or so it appears.

The price adjustments that resulted from the cost, or lack of availability, of flood insurance have remained to this day, but the activity, and the interest, in direct waterfront seems higher this year than for the past few.  In addition to risk factors abating, there are also other causes.  Lots of people have made lots of money in the stock market, and are looking for other places to deploy it.  Aging boomers want homesteads where their families want to gather, and may also be splitting time between the Northeast and a warmer location, so a vacation home here makes good sense.  We are in the midst of a great generational wealth shift, so that adds to the likelihood of increased demand.

Perhaps the final factor is that prices have come down, and, especially compared to the Hamptons and other similar locations, the Connecticut shore properties seem like a bargain--and, often, they are.  Particularly for people in Fairfield County, we are closer than other choices, and flexible work schedules and venues make for easier access by road.

So, if you've been watching, and considering a move to the Shoreline, the time has come to act, before you are beaten to the punch by others.  Consider this fair warning!

OK, Enough Snow!

Well, we were waiting for the snow and we got it! Once the snow started on Friday, it came down so fast that going home was an adventure. I tried to dig out the car closest to the bottom of the driveway so I could go to yoga on Saturday morning, but couldn't do it. Saturday night, all four of us took that bottom car to a party in Norwalk, and ended up pushing it off the driveway at midnight that night. Sunday was another day when none of us went anywhere; there is a downside to living in the highest-up house on Long Island Sound in Connecticut! We're 85 feet above sea level, and the water is right at the bottom of our driveway. If we miss the road by much, we're toast. Our plowing company had gone out of business since last winter, but hadn't bothered to tell us, so a BIG thank you to George Sanders of West Lake Landscaping, who saved the day (or night) by plowing us out on Saturday night. In the interim, we missed a couple of parties, but no days of work. Nature becomes much more important when you live so close to the water. When it's not snow or ice, it's flooding on Old Quarry Road or Route 146.

All that ice means that I haven't been running, either. I can't wait to get out there again! I'm just too clumsy to take the risk of falling. All those Christmas cookies and no exercise is not a good combination, though.

Our New York Times did come on all those days, however, and I got to read about Carl Icahn's suit against Realogy. Realogy is the parent corporation of Coldwell Banker, C21, Sotheby's, ERA, and CB Commercial. They have a LOT of debt, and they were trying to restructure by replacing the debt people already held with less debt of a higher caliber. Carl Icahn didn't like that, and the court agreed with him. It may be tough to be an independent company in this market, but at least we don't have billions of dollars of debt. Now they're looking for another way to restructure. Maybe they'll start by spending only what they have to spend--there's a novel idea!