To date this year, nearly 120 more homes have sold above that $4.3 million price point in Fairfield County, led by the waterside 45 Binney Lane in Greenwich which fetched $27.8 million.
“The metro benefits from its deep concentration of Greenwich commuter wealth and coastal enclaves, which consistently anchor its pricing at the upper end nationally,” wrote Anthony Smith, senior economist for Realtor.com, in an analysis of the April market. “New York’s luxury threshold slipped … 8.3% from a year ago, though the metro continues to carry one of the deepest million-dollar inventories in the country.”
Over the previous five months dating back to last October, the top spot had been held by Utah’s Heber Valley resort region 45 minutes outside Salt Lake City. Realtor.com omitted the Heber Valley as well as the Florida Keys from the April and March reports, helping elevate Fairfield County to the top of the list.
Among larger metro areas, Fairfield County has been a fixture in the top four dating back to last September, along with the Los Angeles area and Maui in Hawaii; and the fourth inclusion alternating between Naples, Florida, and the California metro regions centered on San Jose, Santa Rosa and Santa Barbara.
While the starting price for the top 10% of all listings nationally dropped 1.9% between March and April to $1.74 million, Fairfield County’s rose a half-percentage point. It was the 25th consecutive month that the national price point ebbed for the top 10% of all listings, with Fairfield County’s having risen two straight months.
“Luxury homes are moving slightly more slowly across all tiers than a year ago, a signal that the market is more balanced than the rapid-fire pace seen during the tightest months of the past few years,” Smith wrote.
Realtor.com highlighted New York’s lower Hudson River Valley, including Dutchess County across the border from Fairfield and Litchfield counties, for “quietly building one of the more intriguing emerging luxury profiles in the Northeast, anchored by a corridor of estate-driven communities.” The only other Northeast geography to crack the top 10 for emerging luxury real estate was Portland, Maine.
Includes prior reporting by Joseph Tucci.