Photograph taken with a Point and Shoot Nikon, Coolpix S1.  Photo has not been enhanced in any way.  Photo displayed taken by Marilyn Katz and is covered by Copyright, all rights reserved and may not be reproduced without express written permission, Copyright © 2010 Marilyn Katz, WestportCTProperties, All Rights Reserved... Silent Sunday: Spring Has Sprung on Jennings Court, Westport, CT 03/07/2010

Great news In Real Estate!!!! What is this recent spike upwards in the market all about???? Real estate agents are seeing a surge in the amount of showings of homes and interest not seen in the last few months … Changing prices??? Those houses selling are still those that are the most aggressively priced and staged for a buyer. Buyers need to have a perception of value… What does this mean??? A lot of price per square footage talk out there…that is absolute rubbish…how does that give a buyer perception without the knowledge of the quality of the construction….high end design with fabulous interiors and appliances… or cheap materials and an outdated lifestyle …a lot of smoke and mirrors…also take into account the location…main road or water front…you can’t read that into a price per sq f... 02/03/2010

Staples High School Boys Soccer advances to 2nd round of State Tournament The final scoreboard said it all.  Staples Boys Soccer successfully advanced through the first round of the State LL (extra large school) Tournament, besting West Hartford's Conard High School, 4-1. The team started the game still pumped up from the adrenaline rush of capturing their 26th Fairfield County Interscholastic Conference (FCIAC) title, last week.  Fourteen minutes into play, they scored their first goal and settled into their game, never relinquishing the lead. Just before the end of the half, Staples converted a penalty kick for a 3-0 lead . The large crowd enjoyed the glorious fall weather as they came out to support the team.  Fans will again have the opportunity to "fill the hill", on Thursday, when... 11/11/2009

Westport, CT: Code Red Emergency Notification System in Action It was just a year ago that Westport First Selectman, Gordon Joseloff, announced that the Town of Westport had contracted with Emergency Communications Network, Inc. for its Code Red emergency notification system.  The system sends out emergency notifications based on geographic locations.  Home addresses are used to select which phones receive alerts.  Although the town maintains a database of residential and business numbers, Westport residents were encouraged to register their home phones.  They could also register their cell phone numbers, if they wanted mobile notification.  At the time, my husband registered our phones and I never gave the system another thought.  So, I was quite surprised, Friday afternoon, when my ce... 11/02/2009

Westport Home Sales Update for September 30, 2009 Through the first nine months of the year, 174 Single Family Homes have been sold in Westport. This is down from the 218 Homes that sold in this period last year. It also continues a two year slide - down 47% from the 329 Homes that sold in the first nine months of 2007. The Average Selling Price is $1,373,394.  This is off 21% from last years $1,732,734.  This reflects the slowness had the higher price segments in the market. There are 342 Homes the market today.  They range in price from $387,950 for a 3 Bedroom Ranch to $30,000,000 for a Georgian Colonial with 6 Bedrooms sitting on 4 acres on Westport's shoreline. To see all the homes for sale, please visit www.tetreau.com.   This information is obtained from the Greater Fairfield Cou... 10/23/2009

Westport, CT - There's a New Market in Town   Wednesday, October 14, 2009 brought the much anticipated opening of "The Fresh Market", in Westport, CT.  Local residents filled the parking lot, as they waited for the doors to open, at 9:00 A.M.  Throughout the morning, shoppers were offered free samples of coffee, sushi, flavored tea and other treats.  The first 1000 customers were invited to enter the Grand Opening TFM Pantry Giveaway, for a prize valued at approximately $500. Corporate executives were available throughout the store, to speak to customers, listen to first impressions and answer questions about The Fresh Market and its products.  The store is positioned as an upscale specialty market.  The philosophy is to offer the service of an "Old Fashioned Grocery Store."  The store ... 10/14/2009

Credit Repair in Westport CT National Credit Fixers: 330 Roberts Street 4th Floor East Hartford CT 06108 phone: 860-282-6181. National Credit Fixers boasts of 13 years experience repairing low FICO scores. Whether your credit has been damaged by a foreclosure, bankruptcy, slow credit, collections, judgments, repossessions, etc. we can help. We are the experts in credit restoration and credit repair. We have helped numerous residents of Westport CT. We are experts in Westport CT Credit Repair.  Looking to get a new car or house and can't because you have bad or poor credit?  Call National Credit Fixers today and let a credit repair specialist show you how we can not only get rid of bad credit but help you build good credit!  We're the BEST! :)MattToll Free: 888-NCFIXER (623-4937)Toll Fre... 10/01/2009

While the overall trend is improved, Westport still has only sold 154 Single Family Homes this year.  Sales trail 2008 by 21% and are far off the 303 homes that had sold in 2007 or a 49% decline.   The Average Selling Price for 2009 is $1,393,318.  This figure trails last year's Average of $1,759,467 by 21%.   There are 349 Homes on the market in Westport ranging in price from $358,150 to $30,000,000.   To view any of these homes, just visit www.tetreau.com     This update is based on data provided by the Greater Fairfield County MLS. 09/09/2009

Photograph taken with a Point and Shoot Nikon, Coolpix S1.  Photo has been cropped but not otherwise enhanced in any way.  Photo displayed taken by Marilyn Katz and is covered by Copyright, all rights reserved and may not be reproduced without express written permission, Copyright © 2009 Marilyn Katz, WestportCTProperties, All Rights Reserved... Wordless Wednesday - Westport Prudential Office - Flip Flop Party 08/19/2009

Westport Real Estate Update - As of July 31, 123 homes had sold. This is down 23% from last year and 52% from the 256 homes that had sold by July in 2007.  Average Selling Price came in at $1,381,654 year to date which is a drop of 21% from last year's $1,748,912. 08/09/2009

Sitting at Compo Beach, our first summer in Westport, watching a parade of boats power and sail in and out of the harbor, I knew that I wanted to spend future summers out there, on the water.  One of the many attractions of living in Westport, CT, is its location along Long Island Sound.  Boating is a popular resident activity, with local accommodations available at private yacht clubs, public and town owned marinas, Our first boat was a 17 ½ foot, inboard/outboard, complete with camper top.  Armed with the knowledge gained from our Power Squadron Safe Boating Course, we ventured out, onto the Westport waters.  After zipping around the local waters, we often anchored off Cokenoe Island, sometimes flipping the engine up and pulling the boat close enough to walk ashore.  In 1967, United I... 07/30/2009

I was recently with a friend of mine from upstate Connecticut. My friend plays a lot of golf. He believes in leisure. He does not admire my work ethic. He had been receiving my e-letters and concluded that I spend too much time reading and writing. He felt the need to give me advice. “Randel, you spend too much time indoors … you need to get out and play more golf.” Normally I would let that comment slide by but, like most of us, I worry about balance — the decisions we all make as to how to spend our time. This last year, given the difficulties in the economy in general and the real estate world in particular, I have been working a lot. And so his comments stung me at first. But then I got angry. The truth is that for me, a good book (which can be read outdoors I should have reminded m... 07/27/2009

Lately I have been blogging about the SNEAKY TRICKS business - about how businesses deceive people. The comments to my posts have been wonderful - with addenda and new ideas to add to my various lists. I was particularly thrilled when one comment suggested: "This should be an ongoing column at Huff Po wherein reader's comments that seem reasonable and representative could be edited and perhaps consolidated to be included in the next issue of the blog. It would be a great service to readers and a great tool to mobilize efforts for consumer justice." So, today's post is about real estate brokers. Here is my list of five sneakiest real estate broker tricks (please add to it as you see fit): 1. "Buying listings" - one of their worst tricks is telling a prospective seller just what he or she... 06/08/2009

Last week a friend of mine asked me to review his son's resume.  His son is graduating college next month and trying to get a job.  Since I know people in the business his son is interested in, he also thought I might be of some assistance (and I will try).The resume was by-the-book and well prepared.  But nothing about it jumped off the page.  I tried to communicate to my friend's son that his resume needed to reach out from the page and grab the reader by the throat.And it occurred to me that what I was really saying to this young man was "NOBODY CARES."  Now I don't mean that in the super harsh way that it may sound.  People do care about each other, of course.  But, in business people only care about what can help them AND that presumes you can even get their attention.Similarly, wh... 06/01/2009

I have been an entrepreneur my entire business life.  There are good parts and bad parts.  But, for me, the good far outweigh the bad.Whether you work for yourself or not, it is my view that you need to always think like an entrepreneur.  Here are ten suggestions as to how to do that:1. If you have an employer, do not rely on your job security.   Whoever he or she is, your employer is presently or will at some time be under pressure to cut costs.  You may be one of those costs.2. If you have an employer, make yourself indispensable.  A buddy of mine joined a large law firm.  He asked his boss what the time frame was to make partner.  His boss said:  "You will make partner if and when your client base or unique expertise makes it more economical for us to keep you than lose you."  3. Con... 05/18/2009

On Saturday, May 9, citizens representing 99 Westport residences made their way to the Westport/Weston Health District Parking Lot, to take part in Westport's first Community "Shred Day."                            While visiting her daughter in Chapel Hill, NC, Westporter Nina Streitfield was impressed by the use of local shred days.  She wrote to Westport's First Selectman, Gordon Joseloff, suggesting the activity for Westport.   Joseloff liked the idea and turned to Town Clerk Patricia Strauss to help implement the program.  After interviewing three vendors, the town contracted with Secure EcoShred of Brookfield, who enthusiastically endorsed the effort and offered their services at a deep discount. Under the program, each household was allowed to bring up to five, 12 X 18 inch boxes... 05/12/2009

Over the last year I have read every book or article I could find on the subjects of willpower and self-discipline.  As we entered challenging economic times, I felt that an understanding of how people dealt with adversity would be important. Here is what I have concluded: All of willpower and self-discipline is about an understanding of how your mind works.  Willpower is really just a manifestation of focus and here are the five steps you need to understand in order to improve your focus: 1. Awareness - during stressful times you need to listen to your thoughts.  What exactly is going on in your mind when you are feeling challenged? 2. Treat thoughts as things - one of the best-selling books ever written about success is titled Think & Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill.  This book (only part... 05/04/2009

In last week’s blog post and e-letter I wrote about the need for each of us to think and act like an entrepreneur, the point being that one’s only safety net is the value proposition he or she offers to the marketplace.  More on that next week. But today, given the growth in the number of people following my e-letter (which makes me happy), I want to speak to the objectives I have for my writing. I don’t need to tell you that the world is changing amazingly quickly. When it does, we can at times lose our sense of balance.  As Alvin Toffler wrote in Future Shock (in 1970): “When the individual is plunged into a fast and irregularly changing situation … he can no longer make the reasonably correct assumption on which rational behavior is dependent.” In short, when there is too much going ... 04/13/2009

                         Photograph taken with a Point and Shoot Nikon, Coolpix S1.  Photo has not been enhanced or edited, in any way.  Photo displayed taken by Marilyn Katz and is covered by Copyright, all rights reserved and may not be reproduced without express written permission, Copyright © 2009 Marilyn Katz, WestportCTProperties, All Rights Reserved... Wordless Wednesday - Happy Passover  04/07/2009

There was a time when having a job meant having a job.  Today, having a job is more like a temporary assignment. I’m not saying this is good or bad.  My point is that in order to buttress your ability to make a living you need to see yourself as an entrepreneur - YOU, INC. - an entity that is self-dependent and always looking to add value to its “product line.” In this rapidly changing and increasingly demanding world, the only real safety net you have underneath you is what YOU, INC. can supply the marketplace.  Your ability to survive and prosper depends upon your singular skill set, your knowledge and information, your network and access, and how you are perceived and believed. After watching survivors and succeeders for twenty-five years, and reading everything on the subject I coul... 04/06/2009