Op-Ed: More funds for fields good for taxpayers

September 28, 2017

Dear Editor, New Canaan Advertiser,

Last night I voted to add $800,000 to the Fields appropriation. I did not take this decision lightly. I spent 100 hours discussing with over 20 members of various town committees, taxpayers and employees of the town and school system before coming to the conclusion that finishing the fields with turf, seating, storage and lights was a good business decision for taxpayers. Here are my top ten reasons for supporting full funding of the Enterprise Zone in turf with lights and seating:

1. They're paying it back. The Fields Committee revealed a business plan which conservatively puts $150,000 per year back into the community, one third of which is projected to go into a sinking fund to lower future town re-turfing obligations. 

2. It attracts tourism to downtown stores and restaurants. Estimates of 1000-2000 visiting families to sports camps and tournaments per summer, especially during economically challenging August, helps our economy. 

3. It will improve property values. This high-profile asset speaks directly to the needs of young families buying homes in this area and is accretive to the value of all 7,000 homes. 

4. This facility is used by whole town. Over 80% of the use of the track is by non-students. The 4 turf fields are used by 5 sports year-round. 

5. A vote to stand behind the project (instead of punishing the project) restores private fundraising momentum, encouraging private donations to the NCAF, NCCF and New Canaan Baseball for further improvement of this and other town facilities. 

6. Turf extends the Fall and Spring playing seasons by at least two months per year, eliminating rainouts and taking pressure off Saxe and Waveny grass fields. 

7. Lights extend the playing season & allows practice to occur after sunset when a lot of dads can get off work and volunteer. With Dunning we have seen a direct correlation between football's ability to extend their practice season at all grade levels and the overall success of NC Football program. 

8. Over 2000 New Canaan families participate in sports on these fields and are directly affected by the addition of lights, representing more than 1/3 of our town, a far greater impact by percentage of households than the $18 million Saxe expansion. 

9. Investing in a world class athletic facility helps New Canaan attract and then retain the best coaches and sports professionals to work with our children, leading to greater sports participation at every grade level and of course more State Championships in every sport. It's now a better facility than Darien's, with better parking. 

10. Please put this expenditure in perspective. This bonding commitment will NOT raise our taxes. $800,000 represents roughly 5% of our annual capital spending, about $114 per household. The annual debt service on finishing this project properly and creating an Enterprise Zone is $3.42 per household.

John Engel
Member of the Town Council, New Canaan (R)
203-247-4700 cell/text
jengel@199LLC.com
www.JohnEngel.com

https://ncadvertiser.com/107720/op-ed-more-funds-for-fields-good-for-taxpayers/

DON'T COME to this open house! (You're setting yourself up to be disappointed)

DON'T come to the OPEN HOUSE this Sunday at Prides Crossing #9, 2-4pm.

You're just setting yourself up for disappointment.

You'll imagine yourself living here, lounging by the pool, relaxing on the terrace.

You'll begin planning to make the 3rd bedroom an office, converting the basement to a gym or maybe a guest bedroom, updating the kitchen.

You'll see yourself walking into town, walking to the gym, to the racquet club, or grabbing a bottle of wine from next door.

You'll leave determined to put your big house on the market and ready to downsize into Prides Crossing #9 where you know life will be easier, less stressful.

But, as I said, you're setting yourself up for disappointment.

Over 12 people came through it yesterday during the open house.

Half of them were from Darien where they were overheard saying, "We don't have anything like this in Darien!"

A few came from Wilton and from Pound Ridge lamenting the fact that those towns don't have a walkable center, don't have a train station to NYC a few blocks away, and certainly don't have New Canaan's low property taxes.

This unit is 3-bedrooms and has just been reduced from $888,000 to the unheard-of price of $840,000.  I really don't expect it to last the month at that price.

Don't get me wrong, I think you will end up here at Pride's Crossing.

But, don't set your hopes on THIS CONDO.

You'll either settle for one of the 2-bedroom units that are currently on the market, or you'll wait to pay up for the next 3 bedroom to come up. The last two 3 bedrooms to sell at Prides Crossing over the last 2 years sold for $1.035 and $1.250 million. There is a third sale pending now, also for $1.250. Decisions, decisions. Grab this screaming good deal now before its gone or wait until your house sells and risk that it will be gone.

If you want more information, you can get it a couple of different ways:

1. Go read the listing information: http://ow.ly/wmzC30feQrp
2. Go watch the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr7bnZFNUzw
3. Show up at the open house this Sunday, 2-4pm
4. Call your favorite realtor (New Canaan has only 400 to choose from, after all) and schedule an appointment to see it.

Market Report through August 2017

To download the entire market report as a PDF, click here.

House closings: The 172 house closings in New Canaan over the first 8 months of 2017 is a 26.5% increase vs. the same time frame in 2016. The difference has been seen entirely in the under $2 million price point, where New Canaan has had 125 closings this year as compared to 89 through August 2016. As a result, the median sale price is slightly lower at $1,457,500 as compared to $1,590,000 in 2016. 

House closings in Lower Fairfield County as a whole, through August, increased 6% year-overyear, while the median sale price ($715,000) rose 5.1%.

House Pendings: The 17 houses to go under contract in August is a 41.7% increase over August of 2016 and slightly above average for this time of year.

Inventory: There were 257 house listings in New Canaan at the beginning of the month, a decrease as compared to both September 1st, 2015 (274) and 2016 (279). It is, however, still about 20% higher then what we typically have had at this point in the years prior to 2015. 

The median list price of active houses is $1,995,000, exactly what it was on September 1st in 2016.

Condos: Condo activity remains strong with 35 closings through the first 8 months, 5 condos going pending in August, and inventory that is 24.3% higher then last year. Condo closings in 2017 have ranged in price from $225,000 to $1,600,000 with an average closing price of $754,935.

To download the entire market report as a PDF, click here.

VIDEO: L'Hammock Island in the Norwalk Islands

L'Hammock Island is located in the Norwalk Islands at the western part of Norwalk, Connecticut harbor. There are three houses there dating back to 1903. The houses are summer-only because they have no running water except for what they collect from the roof, no electricity except what they make from the sun and wind and no insulation from the Connecticut winter.

Here are a few photos from the inside of The Red House, pictured in the middle. While it is no longer red, it was painted red for most of the last 115 years.

Tubing in Norwalk Harbor

VIDEO: Welcome to New Canaan, Connecticut

#HomeIsNewCanaan The new video intended to capture the intangible and ungoogleable characteristics of the town of New Canaan is now public. Click below and watch the three-minute version of #Homeisnewcanaan. Make sure your volume is on and not muted.



#Homeisnewcanaan 

#workNYCliveNCCT

#lifelikeapostcard

VIDEO: 289 New Norwalk Road (Canaan Close #7) in New Canaan with John Engel and Susan Engel

This private riverfront townhouse set in the corner of a 7 acre complex, is only steps from the river. Six of the 10 rooms open to decks overlooking Five Mile River. All bedrooms have ensuite baths and abundant closets. Custom features are found in the many built-ins, solid doors, fine hardware & fixtures, and stunning floors: both wood & travertine. With almost 3900 SF on 3 levels, adjacent parking, a nearby garage, pool complex and private setting on the river, this is an ANGLER'S PARADISE!

Property Floorplan

Market Report Through July 31, 2017 and Reflections on the NCAdvertiser Story

According to today's New Canaan Advertiser:

Home sales up 28% year-to-date; growth at points under $2 million

I think that this feels a little optimistic and can be a bit misleading for a couple of reasons

• the comparisons are only made between this year and last year. 2016 was an unusual year with record levels of inventory and a relatively low number of transactions when compared to the previous five years.
• there is no mention in the article of inventory levels. The number of active listings is an important data point. Last year we peaked at a record level 340 houses and by August 1 we were down to 310. The previous year we began August with 291. This year we began August with 281 active listings. That feels pretty good, but its still above average when we look at the last 10 years.

First of all, what are the facts from the Halstead Market Report? Here is the complete report, the complete PDF of the Halstead July Market Report for New Canaan.

House Sales Activity: Through the year's first seven months New Canaan continues a trend, with closings outpacing that of last year but about average by historical measure. The 151 house closings through July is a 28% increase compared to 2106 but very similar to what we saw over this time frame between 2013-2015 (see chart below) 

Similarly, the 25 closings in the month of July is an increase year over year but actually less than the 33 closings New Canaan averaged in this month between 2012 and 2015 (see the July Solds chart below) 

Under $1 million continues to be the busiest price point and has seen an 118% increase in closings as compared to last year.

House Pendings: There were 16 houses that went pending in July, a slight increase vs. July 2016 but less than what we've typically seen this month. Of the properties that went pending two had a list price over $5 million.

What did I learn from this month's market report?

• While the 25 sales in July is up versus 18 a year ago, it is lower than each of the previous 4 years (32, 35, 35 and 29)
• While we closed 25 houses in July, we added 32 new listings last month.
• While we closed 151 houses in the first 7 months versus 118, compare it to the previous 3 years (160, 143, and 148) and we see this activity is only average.
• 11% decrease in median sale price does not mean prices fell 11%. It reflects the fact that we had 35 sales under $1 million versus 16 sales a year ago. Likewise, between $1-$2 million we had 74 sales versus 58 and above $2 million there were only 42 sales versus 44 a year ago.
• The 12 towns in lower Fairfield County sold more houses this year (2856) than any of the previous 5 years (2306, 2848, 2540, 2762 and 2678) and it represents a 8% increase over the average of those 5 years (2626).