Buying a Home in NYC’s Connecticut Suburbs? Expect to Pay Up

(Bloomberg) -- Competition for homes in New York’s Connecticut suburbs is so fierce that more buyers than ever are agreeing to overpay.

In the second quarter, the share of single-family houses that sold above the asking price set records in Greenwich and all of Fairfield County, as bidding wars erupted for a dwindling supply of listings.

In Greenwich, the wealthy town favored by many Wall Street executives, 28% of purchases were for more than the seller sought, according to a report Thursday by appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate. That was the largest share in data going back to 2017.

In Fairfield County -- including Greenwich and towns such as Darien and Westport -- 54% of home sales were above the asking price, the firms said. That was also a record, and far surpassed the previous high of 37%, set just in the first quarter of this year.

The bidding wars are a consequence of the area’s plummeting supply of houses on the market. At the end of the quarter, the listing inventory in Fairfield County was down 40% from a year earlier to 1,681. In Greenwich, listings dropped 42% to 341.

The aggressive purchase stance isn’t limited to Connecticut.

Just over the border, in New York’s Westchester County, 38% of home sales in the second quarter were above the asking price -- a record in data going back to 2017, Miller Samuel and Douglas Elliman said. And Long Island’s share of deals with bidding wars reached an all-time high of just under 40% in the first quarter, the latest data available.

“It’s a regional condition,” said Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel. “Low rates, an improving economy, and an insatiable demand despite lack of supply is driving buyers to significantly overpay.”

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