Greenwich History

Where Does Greenwich's Old Money Live? It's Hiding in Plain Sight

If you're thinking about buying in Greenwich, you've probably pictured old money. Stone walls. Private roads. Families who've been here a hundred years.

By Charlie Vinci, Greenwich Realtor  ·  October 19, 2026

The funny thing is that, for the better part of 30 years, I have been wondering where the old money lives too. I know families who have been here for generations, yet they don't think of themselves as old money.

So, where are they?

To find out, I went back to the original records. The old money that's still here? It's hiding in plain sight. Most people drive right past it.

Below, I'll get into the lineage of old money, where it is now, what happened to it, and where it gets the snobby stereotype that precedes it.

My name is Charlie Vinci. I'm a Realtor here in Greenwich who covers Connecticut's Gold Coast, and my family has been here for five generations. My website is chock full of information on the area if you are interested in learning more.

For this one, I went to the original sources. Old newspapers. Who's Who directories. The Greenwich Historical Society. So you get what's documented, rather than the legend.

Picture Greenwich Around 1900

To explain the story, you have to picture Greenwich around 1900. The men building estates here mostly weren't born rich.

Elias Benedict started as a broker's clerk at sixteen, "without means." William Rockefeller started as a bookkeeper, despite his family name. And George Lauder, Andrew Carnegie's cousin, was a grocer's son.

They made their fortunes in New York. Oil. Steel. Sugar. And railroads.

And Greenwich was the reward. The closest Connecticut town on the train line. A harbor. High ridges. And lots of tired old farms for sale.

Benedict even commuted to Manhattan by steam yacht, from Indian Harbor right into 23rd Street.

The Great Estates Almost Never Lasted

Here's what most people don't know.

The great estates almost never lasted past one generation. Not one is documented as still owned by the family that built it.

The Depression hit. Heirs moved away. Land got sold and divided.

But it didn't disappear. It turned into the Greenwich you'd live in today.

What the Estates Became

Greenwich Point, what locals call Tod's Point, was J. Kennedy Tod's estate. Sheep used to mow his golf course. Today it's a 147-acre town park, and with a resident beach pass, it's your playground.

Bruce Park and the Bruce Museum trace back to Robert Bruce. Binney Park carries the name of Edwin Binney, the Crayola crayon guy. Belle Haven was laid out in the 1880s, and the Belle Haven Club has been there since 1889.

Up in back country, Edmund Converse's estate employed over 200 people. Today it's Conyers Farm, with lots of ten acres or more and polo on summer Sundays.

Round Hill Road, Field Point, Indian Harbor and Milbrook are the same story. Estates became neighborhoods and clubs.

So when someone asks me where the old money lives, the honest answer is...

It lives in the land. The parks, the stone walls, the street names.

And if you buy here, you get to live inside it too.

Are All of the Families Gone?

Well, not all of them. Some families stayed.

The Rockefellers are documented here across four generations, and are "reported" to have sold their last property in 2024.

Descendants of the founding Feake, Ferris and Patrick families still show up for Founder's Day.

And real old money is quiet. In 1992, a woman named Clementine Lockwood Peterson left the Greenwich Library twenty-five million dollars. Few of the library's trustees even knew who she was.

So, Is Old Money Stuffy and Snobby?

Well, the system was. Private land. Private clubs. High prices. And parts of that history did shut some out.

But the people were often a different story.

William G. Rockefeller had the town's boys play baseball on his field. The Tods provided uniforms for the town's fire department. And Louisine Havemeyer went to jail at 63 defending women's right to vote.

The stiff, blue-blazer image? Mostly books and movies. And, ironically, the famous ones were set in Westport and New Canaan, not Greenwich.

The phrase "old money" barely shows up in print until the 1980s.

Real life in Greenwich doesn't match the movies. It's more relaxed and diverse today.

The Useful Truth

So here's the useful truth. Old money in Greenwich is still here, quietly. But mostly, it's gone. What's left is the landscape and the name.

And that's good news. The best of it is open to anyone who chooses to call Greenwich home.

And if you want it, the lifestyle can be had under $1M. Not terrible, given the cost of NYC living and the deep list of amenities that Greenwich has to offer.

Seventy-eight new condos are coming one block off Greenwich Avenue in downtown Greenwich. Most of them will be priced over four million dollars. Last year, this whole town sold just eleven condos over four million.

By Charlie Vinci, Greenwich Realtor  ·  October 13, 2026

And if you're at the lower end of the condo market, say under a million or so, you're not out of this either. There's a different kind of supply coming for you, and I'll show you what you should be concerned about.

We'll look at what's actually happening in the condo market today, what's coming, when it lands, and what I'd do about it if I owned one.

My name is Charlie Vinci. I am a Greenwich Realtor who has helped hundreds of families in Connecticut's Gold Coast.

The Top of the Condo Market Took Off

I started breaking apart the condo metrics, and I got to thinking.

While the middle of the condo market went sideways, the top took off. In the seven years before 2024, Greenwich sold just 11 condos over four million dollars. In the last 12 months alone, it was 11.

Which means the kind of sale this town used to see once or twice a year is now happening about once a month.

I'm feeling real pressure on this market from New Yorkers who are fed up, and boomers who don't need the big house anymore.

What the High-End Condo Market Is Facing

We have no precedent in Greenwich for this many high-end condos landing at once.

So if you own a three, four, five million dollar condo here, and your plan was to sell in the next few years, I would suggest you do it now.

The Lower End Has Real Challenges Coming Too

But it's not like the high-end market is my only concern. The lower end has real challenges coming too.

The 30-year mortgage was 7.40 percent in October. A year ago, it was 6.34. Which means the same monthly payment that carried a million-dollar loan last fall buys about $894 thousand today. That's about 10.6 percent less buying power.

And entry-level buyers are about to have a new option. A lot of them.

About 290 new apartments are approved or under construction. 120 at Benedict Court downtown, due in 2028. 170 on King Street, waiting on sewer approvals. Roughly 300 more are proposed.

A Wave of Rentals, Not Condos

When discussing this with a renter recently, she said to me, and I quote, "Why would I buy a condo when I can rent for cheaper and see what happens?"

On the low end of the market, the supply issue is going to be a wave of rentals, not condos.

With rising prices and rising rates, affordability for entry-level buyers is already a challenge. And soon there will be a wave of rental inventory hitting the market.

What does a developer do when they need to move lots of rental units? That's right, they are going to offer deals. And your buyer never shows up.

What does a developer do when they need to move lots of rental units? They offer deals. And your buyer never shows up.

What I'd Do If I Owned a Condo Here

The good news is that today is a strong market for condo sellers, but the coming years will feel the law of supply and demand.

If you own a condo here, and it's not something you plan to keep 5 or 10 years, it's time to seriously consider selling.

Westport Fall Forecast

Westport's Market Is Slipping. That Could Make This Fall the Best Buying Opportunity in Years.

Three falls ago, 44% of homes in Westport sold over asking. Last fall? It was 32%.

By Charlie Vinci, Westport Realtor  ·  September 21, 2026

Which got me wondering why Westport's market is slipping while the other high-end towns are white hot.

So I pulled every Westport closing over the last three fall seasons. And I dated each one to the day the offer was accepted, not the day it closed — because a closing date tells you when someone got the keys, and you need to know what's happening at the time you're making a decision.

Here's what it said.

Westport Is the One Town Moving the Other Way

Three falls ago, all four high-end towns were sitting at about the same number — right around 44 percent of homes selling over asking. Greenwich, Darien, New Canaan, Westport.

Look where they went. Westport fell to 33.

Westport is also the only one of the four where homes moved slower — median days to accepted offer went from 32, to 34, and up to 45 last fall. Everywhere else got faster.

Let's dig into why this is happening, and why this fall might be the best opportunity that Westport buyers have seen in years.

The Commute Is Back

For a few years there, Westport's extra fifteen or twenty minutes didn't cost much of anything. If you were going into the city once a week, the ride was a rounding error, and you got more land and more house for the money by sitting a few stops further out.

That math has changed. More people are going in three days a week now, some four. And when the commute goes from occasional to routine, those fifteen or twenty minutes each way start feeling like a burden.

I could feel the interest shift about two years ago. Fewer and fewer people were willing to go further up the line, and when I asked why, it was the commute. The towns closer in don't have the same tax on time.

This Isn't Doom and Gloom

Now the part that matters. This isn't all doom and gloom. It's not like the bottom has fallen out of Westport's market. But it is easier to buy here than the other high-end towns. So if you don't have the commute pressure, or don't mind the time on the train, Westport should be on your list.

It is easier to buy here than the other high-end towns.

What to Expect in Westport This Fall

Based on the last three falls, expect roughly 49 new listings in September, 38 in October, 21 in November, and 12 in December.

And the market will act differently depending on your price point. Under one million, 38 percent are expected to sell over asking. One to two million: 45 percent. Two to three million: 47 percent. Three to five million: 29 percent. Five million and up: 22 percent.

So the strongest part of the Westport market is one to three million. That's where the buyers are stacked up.

The Proof That Demand Is Still Real

Here's the proof that, while this market is cooling, demand is still real.

In the first seven days, 88 percent of Westport homes sold over asking during the last three falls, at a median of 106.1 percent of the original ask. Days 8 through 14: 78 percent over asking, at 106.7 percent. Days 15 to 30: 54 percent, at 101.2 percent. Days 31 to 60: 24 percent, and the median falls to 97.5 percent. Days 61 to 90: 23 percent, at 95.4 percent. Past 91 days: about 10 percent, and a median of 91.4 percent.

What It Means for Your Move

Telling those two apart is the entire job, and it's the reason you hire me.

New Canaan Market Forecast

New Canaan, Fall 2026: The Perfect Tie That Hides Everything

In New Canaan last fall, about one out of every five homes went under contract inside two weeks — and they sold for a median of 107 percent of the asking price. Almost exactly one out of every five sat on the market more than ninety days. Those sold for 92.5 percent.

By Charlie Vinci, New Canaan Realtor  ·  September 14, 2026

Now put the whole town together and you get this: 44.7 percent of New Canaan homes sold over asking. 44.7 percent sold under. A perfect tie.

That tie is the most misleading number in this entire forecast.

I went through every accepted offer in New Canaan that made it to closing over the last three fall seasons, and I dated each one to the day the offer was accepted rather than the day it closed. Closing dates tell you when someone got the keys, not what's happening at the moment you are making a decision.

If we haven't already met, I'm Charlie Vinci. My site has current New Canaan listings, market data, a home valuation tool, and a relocation guide if you're getting to know the area. Call me when you want help.

First, what's coming

Using historical data to forecast what's coming this year, I expect about 31 new listings in September, 23 in October, 13 in November, and perhaps 6 in December.

There's one soft spot in the calendar I'd point out — November is consistently the weakest month for sellers in this town. Just under 36 percent went over asking. Expect to see the real activity in September and October.

Now your price point

Where you buy or sell often matters more than the timing.

One to three million is the fastest moving part of this market. Above five million, you’re looking at a very different experience.

Where New Canaan separates itself

Here's something I'll give New Canaan credit for, and it genuinely separates this town from its neighbors. The inventory typically matches the demand.

The single biggest block of homes for sale in New Canaan normally sits in the two-to-three million range — the same band where half of all sales go over asking. In Darien and Westport, most of the standing inventory is expected to be stacked up at the top of the market, in the slowest brackets.

This means that sellers in the hottest segments have less room for error. Launch timing and pricing have to be spot on, or you end up getting noticeably less for the home.

Let me show you what I mean

Here is the same town, sorted by how long it took to get an accepted offer.

If you go under contract in the first 7 days, the forecast suggests that 83 percent will sell over asking, at a median of 109.2 percent. That's impressive.

Days 8 through 14, 91 percent over asking, at 105.8 percent. So you are more likely to go over asking if you wait a bit longer to accept an offer. You should know that this is consistent across the other high end towns as well.

Days 15 to 30: 59 percent are expected to go over asking, at a median price of 101.3 percent. Days 31 to 60: 35 percent, at 99.1 percent.

After 60 days the real shift happens. Days 61 to 90: just 8 percent sold over asking, with a median of 92.8 percent. Past 91 days: just 12 percent, at 92.5 percent.

The price you actually get

The percentage over asking tells you how often. This tells you how much — the median sale price as a share of the asking price, with 100 percent as the break-even line.

Selling sooner than 60 days is critical if you don't want buyers to see your home as an opportunity for a good deal.

What to do with this

If you're selling, the outcome is made by the decisions you make before the first showing. Push your fears aside, prepare it properly, and price it to sell the first two weeks. I would recommend that you call me a year in advance to start preparing for the sale.

If you're buying, go in with your eyes open. Some of those homes have been sitting for ninety days because the price was never real, but some will be a real opportunity. Telling those two apart is the entire job, and it's the reason you hire me.

Darien Market Forecast

46%. 54%. 63%. Darien's Fall Market Has A Direction.

Three years ago in Darien, 46 percent of fall buyers paid over asking. Two years ago, 54. And last year, it was 63 percent.

By Charlie Vinci, Darien Realtor

I went back through every accepted offer in Darien that made it to closing over the last three fall seasons. But rather than focusing on closing dates, I focused on when the offer was accepted. Closing dates tell you nothing, while accepted-offer dates reflect the actual time you are making a decision.

Here's what I found.

In Darien this fall, the gap between buying well and buying badly isn't measured in weeks. It's measured in about seventeen points of purchase price.

If we haven't already met, my name is Charlie Vinci. On my website you'll find current Darien listings, market data, a home valuation tool, and a full guide if you're relocating or still learning the area. Call me if you need honest advice about your purchase or sale.

What's Actually Coming To Market

Averaging the last three falls, I expect about 29 new listings in September. 18 in October. 9 in November. And perhaps just 3 in December.

And the number of new listings has been shrinking. November went from 12, to 11, then to 5. And December went from 5, to 3, and most recently to 1.

The simple story is fewer homes, and more buyers over asking, three years in a row.

The Two Weeks In September That Decide Your Price

But the monthly numbers hide something, so here's what buyers and sellers need to know.

In the first half of September, 79 percent of Darien homes sold over asking. In the second half of the same month, it dropped to 50 percent. Two weeks apart has meant a twenty-nine point swing.

The first two weeks of September are, besides early March, the most competitive stretch of the entire year in this town. If you are a seller, that is your window. If you are a buyer, that's probably the time where you want to be patient.

Your Price Point May Matter More Than Your Timing

Here's the percentage of Darien homes expected to sell over asking this fall, by bracket:

Share of Darien homes selling over asking, by price band

The heart of this market — one to three million — is where you will be competing hardest. If that's your range, know it walking in.

And here is the mismatch I want you to see. Five million and up sold over asking just 10 percent of the time. That is the widest gap between where the inventory sits and where the buyers are that I see anywhere in the Gold Coast.

If you are shopping at the top of this market, you have leverage, but you might not know it if you are looking at a typical market report.

What Happens To Price As A Home Sits

Here is the median sale price as a percentage of the original ask, by how long the home was on the market before the offer was accepted. The vertical line is 100 percent — the original asking price.

Median sale price as a share of original ask — 100% = asking price

So if you're selling, your leverage peaks around day ten to twelve. If you're buying, everything past day sixty is a different conversation.

Plan Around The Trend

Three straight falls of more competition and less inventory. That trend is real and you should plan around it.

Some of those homes sit because of price. Some because of layout, and sometimes they sit because of bad luck on the seller's part, or poor market timing. They are completely different situations, and telling them apart is your agent's job.

Greenwich Market Insight

The Greenwich Fall 2026 Forecast: Two Markets, Not One

Over the last three falls in Greenwich, about 43 percent of homes sold for more than the asking price. Ironically, roughly the same percentage, 43 percent, sold for less. Same town. Same season. Similar buyer demand.

By Charlie Vinci, Greenwich Realtor

I went back through every accepted offer that made it to closing in Greenwich over the last three fall seasons. This year is tracking nearly exactly as the last three have, and they give us an excellent basis to forecast from.

What's different about this forecast is that we didn't focus on closing dates, we focused on when the offer was accepted. Because you need to know your timing, which is based around when the offer is accepted, rather than the closing date.

Here's what I found.

How you play this market matters just as much as it does in the spring, but there is a lot more to win or lose depending on which side of the fence you sit on.

Most People Talk About "The Fall Market." There Are Two.

Most people talk about "the fall market" like it's one market. I would suggest that you see it as two.

Your Price Point May Matter More Than Your Timing

Now let's talk about your price point, because where you sit may matter more than when you buy or sell. Here's the expected percentage of homes that will sell over-ask this fall, depending on which price bracket they sit in.

So the hottest segment of the market is under three million. If that's your range, understand what you're walking into. Above three million, you are in a noticeably cooler market, however the best homes will still go over asking.

What Days on Market Actually Does to Your Price

Let's take a look at how much over the original asking price homes sell for, depending on how many days the home is on the market.

In the first 7 days, 62% are expected to sell over asking, at a median of 103.3% of the original asking price.

If you thought more time on the market would lead to a lower price, that's not exactly true. If the home goes under contract between days 8 and 14, 85% sell over asking, and for a median of 105.6% of the original asking price.

How about 15–30 days on market? 54% are expected to go over asking at a median of 101% of the original asking price.

31–60 days is where buyers begin to get a discount, with 39% still expected to go over asking, but the median price dropping to 99.1% of the original asking price.

For my value seekers, on days 61–90 the typical home is expected to sell at 94.4% of the original asking price. And you do a little better if the home is over 91 days, with a median of 91.4% of the original asking price.

The Play for Each Side

So if you're a buyer, getting a home under contract quickly has a real advantage, but for sellers, holding out during the first two weeks is the better play.

Sellers should shoot to have your offer accepted around the 10 day mark to be in the sweet spot.

The most important thing to remember about the fall is, deals ARE coming.

Some homes sit for a reason. Bad layout, hard site, a price that was never real. Your agent's job is to tell you which is which.

Gold Coast Market Timing

When Should You Buy? The Question That Never Gets Asked

When should you buy? It might be the most commonly asked question… that never gets asked. And if that doesn't sound like an oxymoron, wait until I do my best to explain our market.

By Charlie Vinci, Fairfield County Realtor

Prefer to watch? See the full breakdown on YouTube.

There Is No Data That Actually Describes This Market

I have found that there is no data which can actually describe our market. Why? Because when you are in the market for dozens of cycles, over several decades, the true color of the data reveals itself.

I am going to do my very best to describe it to you today, so you can make the best buying or selling decision possible.

If we haven't already met, my name is Charlie Vinci. This site is chock full of advice and tools for buyers and sellers here in Connecticut's Gold Coast. And in the coming weeks, I am going to follow this up with forecasts for the fall 2026 market in Greenwich, Darien, New Canaan and Westport.

So let me paint the market, from an agent's perspective, to help you make the best decision about when to buy or sell.

The Spring Market Starts in February — Not April

In the spring, waves of buyers hit the market. More of them, by far, than the total number of homes we have available to sell. So the ones who win the 50–75% of homes that will sell over asking — most in the first week — are the buyers who are the most competitive with their offer.

Lots can be done to structure a competitive offer. I could write a whole series on it, but that's why you hire me.

I would say that our spring market actually starts in February, about mid-month, because that's when the offers are typically accepted for April sales. Notice that most reports would suggest the spring market starts in April, but as a buyer or seller, you are beginning to feel the market when the offer is accepted, not when the home closes.

The biggest flaw in how people read the data is by focusing on the closing date, not when the offer is accepted.

The Year, Month by Month

Let the Facts Tell You What It's Worth

All the best deals I have secured for my buyers have been achieved when we didn't have to compete.

If you want to know if you are getting a good value, rather than relying on buyer frenzy — which can be manufactured — try looking at the facts. The sales data.

Yes, you will need a good agent to help. There is too much nuance, which is why even the best analysts can make mistakes. But when the data supports the price, or perhaps even a higher price than what you can negotiate, that is a great deal in this market. Because most buyers are throwing out the data and trying to figure out the price that will get the home. That's how you get burned.

For most families, the number one criteria when choosing a town IS the school system. I see my clients struggling to make the BEST decision for their children, because it is perhaps THE MOST important factor when deciding where to live.

By Charlie Vinci, Fairfield County Realtor

Prefer to watch? The full breakdown is above. The written version continues below.

And as a father, I also FEEL the incredible burden, because I know that the education choices we make WILL have a profound impact on our children's life.

So today, I am going to show you the method that will give you the confidence to know you are focused on the best schools FOR YOUR CHILDREN'S NEEDS.

If this is the first time we are meeting, my name is Charlie Vinci. I have helped 100's of families relocate here from all over the world.

Full disclosure before we go any further: I am a Connecticut Realtor, and I am going to use Connecticut as an example, because it's what I know best. But the truth is, it doesn't matter whether you are looking in Jersey, Long Island, Westchester or Connecticut. The method works because it's based on fundamentals.

First, Why the Ratings Sites Aren't a Magic Bullet

Before we dive into the filters which will help you pick the best school — and therefore town — let's talk about the filters which are too heavily relied upon, and why they aren't a magic bullet. I am of course talking about the ratings you find on Niche, Great Schools and others.

I am going to number out the many ways they can be misleading.

Use the ratings as a starting point — a way to build your list, not finish it. They tell you where to look. They do not tell you what you'll find.

The Six Filters

The filters I'm about to give you are how you actually find the best school for your children.

There are six common filters. The wrong way to use them would be to value all of them equally, because, well, your child isn't the same as someone else's. A more effective approach would be to prioritize the filters. Make a big list of all the school possibilities, and then filter them through your prioritized list of filters. Once you are down to a few schools, dig deep to choose the best for your child. Here's how.

The ratings tell you where to look. These six filters tell you what you'll find.

Schools Are Only One Part of the Decision

But the truth is, schools are only one part of your decision. We love our kids, but we need a little something for ourselves too. That's why I created this series, and there's lots more to come.

Greenwich Deal Story

The Deal They Swore They'd Never Make

Two weeks on the market. Zero interest. And the only buyer I still believed in was the one person this family had promised each other they would never sell to.

By Charlie Vinci, Greenwich Realtor

Watch the full story on YouTube →

The house is on Benedict Place — steps off Greenwich Avenue. Their father had died a few months before. His kids were spread across the world, trying to decide what to do with the last thing he owned in Greenwich.

And I was about to give them advice they were going to hate.

I'm going to take you through all of it. The pressure they were under. The call I was wrong about. And the three terms that decided the whole thing.

My name's Charlie. Over the last decade, I've helped hundreds of families relocate here from all over the world. This one was the reverse. This was a family leaving.

The Call

It started with a phone call from an agent in California. Someone I had never met, never spoken to, had no relationship with. He had a client and friend who owned a property in Greenwich and no idea what to do with it.

Their father had passed. The estate was theirs to sort out. And there was already a developer circling.

The family's description of the experience with the decades-long relationship with the developer was bleak: lies, legal tactics, pressure, all to try and lowball the property. By the time they got to me, they weren't asking how to sell. They needed help.

So we didn't list it.

The first several conversations I had with that family had nothing to do with a listing agreement. We talked about keeping it. Renting it. Holding it as an investment and letting the house keep working for them. It was a real option that was worth consideration.

What Changed the Math

The developer's project was, in my read, likely to get approved. And if it did, this house was going to spend years surrounded by construction. Fenced sidewalks. Noise from seven in the morning. You don't rent a fair price in the middle of that, and you probably don't sell for a fair price either.

Which meant the window to make a decision wasn't open forever.

So the family made the call: sell it.

With one condition. Not to the developer.

And this is where the job got uncomfortable, because I already knew who the best buyer for this property was.

Let me explain why. A single-family home behind Saks Fifth Avenue on Greenwich Avenue is a strange asset. The pool of buyers is pretty small.

So the family's instruction and the market's reality were pointing in opposite directions.

Two Weeks. Nothing.

I took the listing anyway. Intent on doing what the family needed. Inventory was thin, and I believed the rare buyer could be out there.

After two weeks on the market — nothing. Few showings, no second looks, few calls from agents fishing. And no offers. If our buyer was out there, they weren't willing to pay the price my seller wanted.

Then a representative for the developer called me.

I did not negotiate on that call. Or the next one. What I did was ask questions — about the site plan, the timeline, what the project looked like.

And somewhere in the third conversation, it landed.

I got a hold of the plans. Pulled the public data on all of the lots. Found all the side deals. And realized, they didn't want this property. They needed it. Without this parcel, the plan they had spent years and real money pushing forward wouldn't work. The substitute would have been a less profitable project.

Leverage has almost nothing to do with who's bigger. It has to do with who holds the cards. And in this case, my clients did.

The silence on our listing suddenly meant nothing at all.

The Hardest Part of the Transaction

I had to go back to a family that was still grieving, a family that had objected to this development in the past, a family that felt genuinely mistreated — and tell them that the person they least wanted to buy the home was the person they should sell to.

If you're reading this with someone and one of you is running the numbers while the other one is thinking about what your father would have wanted — you're both right. That tension is not a flaw in how you're handling it. That's what most people would do.

But I didn't tell them what they wanted to hear. I told them the reality of the situation.

They listened. They saw that their asset would be devalued if we were built around, and they saw they had leverage for the first time. But their question was, how do we trust them?

The Three Terms That Decided It

So that's what I built the deal around. Three ways to protect them, no matter what chess moves the developer was planning to make.

Six Months of Waiting

The developer eventually agreed to my terms.

And the nail-biting waiting period ensued. Would they close? Or would it be just another game for them?

We waited not so patiently, through the six-month approval process. I watched it closely.

Financially, my clients would have done better if the developer walked away. They knew that. I told them that in plain language.

But they wanted it to close anyway. Not for the money. They wanted to close a chapter of their life. They wanted their father's estate settled, the funds reinvested, and the thing behind them.

What Do You Really Want?

Let me be careful, because this is exactly the kind of story an agent tells to make himself look good.

Not every deal ends this way. I'm going to tell you about some that didn't — deals that fell apart, calls I'd make differently today.

But this one did close.

If you're anywhere near a decision like this one, I would ask you one question. What do you really want?

The answer to that question is usually a conversation with someone who is skilled in the options.

Greenwich Market Insight

What Actually Makes a Greenwich Home Sell Quickly

So what makes Greenwich homes sell quickly? It's a big question — because it assumes that all homes are the same.

By Charlie Vinci, Greenwich Realtor

A Market That Runs From About $1 Million to $143 Million

When you have such a range of prices — where the bottom of our market is roughly a million bucks and the top of the market is something like $143 million — it's hard to address, because you're addressing such a wide range.

But we can dial it back from a big-picture level, understanding that we're not really dealing with the nuances of the market.

The Things That Move a House Here

Where the Speed Is Right Now

Realistically, we're probably talking about homes under five million that are moving at a brisk pace right now. Once you're at five plus, you're at the higher end of the market in Greenwich.

At least in current times — and anything could change — $5, $10, $20 million houses are actually, from a historical perspective, selling very quickly right now. But realistically, from boots on the ground, it's not like a $2 million house that probably sells in the first weekend if it's priced and prepared properly. Maybe you have a few more weeks, or a little bit more time, on the appropriately priced $5 million properties.

That's just because there are fewer people who could afford them — less total buyers. And I think the buyers themselves tend to be a little bit different. If we fired that market up to the point where it was flying, they would have no choice. But with the market moving a little slower, that buyer is able to dial into it. They can see the house didn't sell in two weeks. The one they loved is still around. So they can already just sort of sense that the market's moving a little bit slower.

Why Turnkey Is Worth More Than It Costs

Most of these people are busy, with real big demands on their daily schedule. If you even broke it down into a dollar-per-hour that that particular person makes — why would they want to spend it fixing up their house?

Even from a pure logical perspective, but also from a functional perspective, they just can't leave their business to focus any energies and efforts on fixing this house up.

That turnkey house has value beyond what it likely cost you to be turnkey. They'll happily pay a premium so they can just move in.

What You Get Back on a Renovation

If you have a renovation where you've put lots of money into the house — if you've made it really great, and you've made it appealing to the masses, which is key — you're going to get a lot of that value back. I don't want to say 100%, because all the studies we've ever seen don't necessarily suggest that major remodeling returns 100% on value. But you can get a lot of your money back from that particular buyer, assuming it's not a real old renovation and they walk in and it's appealing to them.

You have to do the right things to the house to make it appealing to the market. But let's assume you did that — that's a real bonus for our local sellers here. You can actually do work to these homes and get it back, because we have the buyers coming in who cherish it. Whether it's $100 grand to do that kitchen over or $200 grand, they would far rather just walk in and have it be done than go through the whole process. The overwhelming majority of buyers would rather just have that done.

Greenwich vs. Stamford: Turnkey Doesn't Mean the Same Thing

Take a town like Stamford as an example. A two or three million dollar house there is, in some cases, even above the median — at two-ish million bucks you're above the median for the town.

I think turnkey matters in a town like Stamford, but it doesn't matter the same way that it matters in Greenwich. Again, I'm not saying that buyers don't value it. But when you have a buyer who has to look at a situation like this actually costs me money, it's different. If you're earning less money, you might look at it like: hey, I'm getting this house for 50 grand less than I would have to pay with a new kitchen, and I would rather put the kitchen in myself. It's just a different mentality, a different approach.

I'm not saying those people don't exist in Greenwich. But if you're wondering why something flies off the market, it's because it's easy.

It's well priced, it's easy, it looks good, and it just fits in that person's lifestyle.

Colonial vs. Contemporary

How much you spend really changes your preferences for a particular home. However, I think most people like a lot of the same things: open layouts, light and bright spaces, and at least a little bit of land.

On style, in our area, generally speaking, people are preferring a colonial. I think we can see that in the data, and I think we can see it just real boots on the ground. That doesn't mean contemporary is not going to sell, and it doesn't mean there aren't buyers for that house — there are. But if we're talking about the majority of people: if you have a colonial that's in tiptop shape, in neutral colors, remodeled by a designer for something that's more mainstream that everybody would like, and you're at a fair market price, you're flying off the market.

There are just fewer people interested in the modern stuff. And I'm generalizing, obviously — but if you want a modern house, you're passionate about it. If you want a unique style, you're usually really passionate about it. The cool thing about that as a seller is that you may have the only one on the market. If they really want that, and if they're willing to pay for it, you may have the only one. So there is a trade-off.