Greenwich’s multimillion-dollar homes are having a moment. It only took a pandemic.
In February, 14 contracts were signed to buy single-family houses priced at $5 million to $9.99 million, a 600% jump from just two a year earlier, before Covid-19 swept across the U.S., according to a report Thursday by appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate.
Across all price points, single-family contracts in the posh Connecticut town soared 157% to 108, the firms said.
It’s another sign that well-off New Yorkers tired of being confined to tight quarters during the pandemic are seeking relief among the backyards and spacious homes of the city’s nearby suburbs. The suddenly tight inventory of single-family houses in Greenwich has forced buyers to move fast and often pay above list price.
Those with a taste for the ultra-luxury have turned their attention to Greenwich’s older estates outside the town center, which had fallen out of favor in recent years. Two homes listed at $20 million or more found buyers last month, compared with none in February 2020.
With most people still working from home, “the location of the office is not holding you back,” Scott Durkin, president of Douglas Elliman, said in an interview. “The whole family can live there, work there, play there, educate there.”
New listings for single-family houses dropped 23% from a year earlier as Greenwich’s homeowners stay put.
“They’re not selling,” Durkin said. “They have an apartment in Manhattan, they have a home in Greenwich and they have a home in South Florida.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.