The Dynamics of the Residential Real Estate Market with Judith Dominguez
Knowing market trends helps clients make informed decisions
Judith Dominguez is a residential realtor at WEB Realty where she primarily serves the Hispanic and veteran communities in the home buying and selling process. In today’s show, Judith discusses the current market, why it’s a great time to sell, and how buyers need to be prepared to offer above asking price to secure their forever home.
Key Takeaways
The Norwalk residential market is a sellers’ market.
Houses are selling on average in 58 days.
Buyers should prepare for bidding wars by cushioning their offer price.
Sellers are pricing homes to generate interest that leads to bidding wars.
“Those that are offering above asking price are the ones that are getting the houses.”
Biography
Maria Judith Dominguez is a professional Real Estate Agent serving Fairfield and New Haven counties. Her specialty is the Hispanic Community, First Time Home Buyers, and serving our Military Veterans buying their residence. A native from Mexico, she is fluent in Spanish, which helps her clients better understand the home buying process. Judith is a member of the Norwalk Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Norwalk Chamber of Commerce as well as its Small Business Council. She is the membership secretary for the East Norwalk Business Association (ENBA) and the Fairfield County Commercial Brokers Network (FCCBN). Judith teaches the Real Estate Course in Spanish, the first and only Spanish course available at the Real Estate University, which she graduated from in 2015. Her willingness to help her community accomplish their dream of owning a home motivates her to work diligently for her clients.
Episode Transcription
Eric Bernheim: Welcome to The Real Estate Roundup presented by FLB Law in partnership with The Greater Norwalk Chamber of Commerce. I am your host Eric Bernheim, managing partner of FLB Law, a full service law firm based in Westport, Connecticut. During this focus series of five podcasts, we'll be discussing current real estate trends in The Greater Norwalk region. Our expert guests will discuss topics including local development projects, workforce housing, and the trends in real estate markets including industrial, retail, office, single-family and multifamily residential properties. Thank you for listening.
We're here this morning with Judith Dominguez, who is a residential realtor at WEB Realty. Thank you for joining us this morning, Judith.
Judith Dominguez: Thank you for having me again, Eric.
Eric Bernheim: Of course, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your company WEB Realty.
Judith Dominguez: Absolutely. Again, thank you for having me. This is a pleasure to do as I love real estate. So my name is Judith Dominguez. I've been with WEB Realty company for the last six years. My mentor is Winthrop Baum, which is the broker at the company. He opened it up 35 years ago. I live in Norwalk. I love Norwalk. I have three kids in Norwalk public schools, and they love it. I've been going through the ups and downs with the Zoom school and stuff. I'm involved in the community through the Norwalk Chamber of Commerce, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. And lately, for the last two years, I've been teaching the real estate Spanish course, which is the only one in the state for those who want to get their real estate license, but in their language. So that's a little bit about me.
Eric Bernheim: That's great. And what do you primarily focus on at WEB Realty? Is it mainly residential real estate? Do you do any commercial real estate?
Judith Dominguez: I do both. Just because of the nature of my position, I do property management as well. And my focus is residential. I have worked a lot with first time home buyers since the beginning, and I like to convert renters to buyers, which I've been doing so lately.
Eric Bernheim: That's great. Thank you. And we're looking forward to discussing the residential real estate market with you today. So let’s get into it. We know that COVID has had a far reaching impact on the residential real estate market. Could you talk specifically to the impact that COVID has had on the Norwalk and the Greater Norwalk markets?
Judith Dominguez: Well, as a real estate agent, I can tell you that location is the first thing somebody is looking at and what drives prices. So because we live in Fairfield County, and the proximity that we have with the city and the amenities that Fairfield County also has in the field that people feel like they're in the suburbs, but yet everything is still close to you. It's still very desirable for people to come and move to Norwalk. I've dug a little bit in on the statistics of which cities are those who are migrating to Norwalk choosing, and the first one is Stamford, followed by Norwalk, Bridgeport and Danbury. Those are the first four and those are all from New York buyers.
There's a feature now on the MLS. When you sell a house, you have to say now where the seller is going to if he's relocating and where the buyer is coming from. So you are able to pull the statistics based on that and that's where they're going from the just in Stamford, Norwalk, Ridgefield in Danbury. And yes, just the proximity that has with the city. I have had many city people moving here and still commuting.
Eric Bernheim: That's great. Can you give us a little bit more detail on what you're seeing in the Norwalk residential market?
Judith Dominguez: Definitely, which is my area of expertise. I work in Norwalk a lot and I have to tell you that the prices are still going up. If we compare September 2021 to September 2020, we do have a decrease in price at 3.3%, which is not a lot. But if we compare the sales today, it has increased for the median sales price. I'm talking about for 19%. So that's a big jump where we're still seeing prices going up. I don't see them going down. We still have a shortage of inventory, especially on single family homes.
[00:05:00]
However, we do have more inventory for condos. So there's more condos and townhouses available for people than single family houses. Which actually is showing me the ones who are putting their houses on the market, which I have two clients just like that same position. They were getting rid of the condo, and they're looking to buy a single family, just because they're looking for that extra space. I guess COVID has them in that little room for so much time all day long. And that now they want to just upgrade which is a natural step in real estate anyway, you want to go from condo, townhouse, single family, maybe a bigger house later and maybe downsize. And then you sell the real estate when you pass away.
Eric Bernheim: That really interesting that people are moving from condos to single family homes. Are the condos that are on the market that are becoming available, are they sitting for a long time? Are they on the market for a while? Are they very hot as well?
Judith Dominguez: Yeah, they're very hot as well. And there's actually again, if we compare the days on the market from last year to this year, they're still going down. So it's not moving or changing in that respect. They're flying.
Eric Bernheim: Okay. So that's a good segue into my next question, how is the influx in apartments impacting the single family home market and the condo market? Do they play off of one another well, or do they compete with one another? Can you talk a little bit about that?
Judith Dominguez: Yeah, definitely. Obviously, it depends, those that have been outbid, that cannot get a property, they have to look for a rental. So they come in handy, actually, right now, because I also have clients that I cannot get them in a place and time is of the essence, whatever their needs are. And then if I cannot get them in the house and say, two, three months, I have to buy them a place for them to rent. In the meantime, we found a house. So, there's a shortage of rentals also. Real estate drives the economy. So I think all these apartments that are being built, we’re seeing them in the rear end. Now Wilton is looking at them, you saw them in Bridgeport, we see them here in Norwalk, and like it or not, to some people, they do help the community in the city. So it does, to me as a real estate agent, it helps me have that side of real estate so that I can help my clients in the future.
Eric Bernheim: That's really interesting. I never thought that if you're having trouble finding a home that you want to buy, the apartments can really help you for the short term. So that's an interesting way to look at it. And it's really interesting to hear from you that there's a shortage of apartments now because I hear what you're hearing, which is, everybody says, another apartment building, how can we support another apartment building? Where are all these people coming from? So can you talk to us a little bit about how the inventory, the list prices, sale price statistics have changed over the last 12 months?
Judith Dominguez: Yeah, we did a little bit about that. Like I said, the inventory is still low. If we go to percentage and statistics and statistics in specific I can give them to you. We have -2.4% of new listings and single family if we're talking about Norwalk in specific and we have a + 21.5% in new listings and townhouses in condos, which is what I was talking to you about. Sell prices again, same thing. They're still on the rise. I don't see that either. Just townhouses + 39.8%. And how much is the seller being given from the listing price that they're getting in condos is +3.2%. And houses are going down -.2%. I talked to you a little bit about the fact that the median sales price is going lower, but that is we compare from September ‘21 to September 2020. But there's some of the price.
Eric Bernheim: You are still seeing some bidding wars and some circumstances?
Judith Dominguez: Absolutely and only those that are offering I mean, above asking price are the ones that are getting the houses.
[00:10:00]
In this market right now, if you do less than the asking price, you're going to have competition already at the asking price. So why just not go that extra mile, as long as obviously the comparables for the house support it, because if we offer more than the house is worth, and then we have a mortgage contingency when the appraisal comes is not going to support our offer. And then we're going to have to either redo, withdraw, or pay the excess. And that's a problem too.
Eric Bernheim: So when you represent sellers, are you suggesting that they put their house on maybe below what you think they're going to get just to start a bidding war?
Judith Dominguez: I do. And that is because if you price it right, it's not going to be sitting there. And then I do properties, I do my homework, I give all the buyers the futures of the house, or if it's an income producing property, then I give them all the expenses and the income that they have. And then based on that, and my comparables, then I tell them, this is your low, this is your medium, this is your high, let's go between the low and the median so that we can have more people and it worked.
Eric Bernheim: That's amazing. And you mentioned that when you do that, properties won't be sitting there for long. What is the average time that these properties are on the market these days?
Judith Dominguez: So now is, as in here, 58 days on the market. We're talking about Norwalk.
Eric Bernheim: So that's a really short period of time, because it usually takes 45 to 60 days to close once you have an accepted offer. So that almost implies that you're getting offers and going under contract almost days after you put it on the market.
Judith Dominguez: It says, you get no inspection, no mortgage contingency, 30 day closing, that kind of thing. So it's pretty interesting. And it's a good thing for Norwalk because the prices are going up, and I mean, not for when they pay in taxes, obviously. But it's good. It's good for the economy.
Eric Bernheim: Well, if the prices are going up, the mill rate should go down, hopefully. So we'll see how that plays out. So I recently read a New York Times article about how new construction homes are being built by investors for the purpose of renting as opposed to selling historically, or at least in the last decade or so when you build a new home, you're trying to sell it as a spec home or a custom home to a new buyer that's going to live there. But now I read this article, and they're being built just for renting purposes. Are you seeing this a lot in your practice?
Judith Dominguez: I just mentioned it to you, Wilton, it's applying to 401 Fairfield is in the middle, the Rienne is getting some pushback, but they are investors looking at these areas, even though or regardless that the prices have gone up for the construction materials as well. I have to say also that the cities play an important role when it comes to investors wanting to invest in their cities. So I don't see them stopping as long as their finances work, they're going to get the return that they need so that they can make some profit. I still see people looking for multifamily deals or vacant land or enterprise zones here in Norwalk per se, that they have the chance to be converted to mix use. So I am seeing that it actually has a pocket listing of Harbor Avenue, that it's one acre, but it could be a developer.
Eric Bernheim: Well, so even in today's market where prices have skyrocketed, and you mentioned construction prices have gone up significantly. You're still seeing a lot of investors that are buying rental units, single family double multifamily units.
Judith Dominguez: Yeah. I can see that also with my boss, if you have a good deal in front of you, you're just going to go for it and then make it work.
Eric Bernheim: That's great. On our call the other day, you told me about some of your investors, they're buying affordable units and the finances behind that. Can you speak a little bit to that for me?
Judith Dominguez: Yes. So affordable housing, and there’s a percentage of this building that needs to be -- I've allocated for people for affordable housing.
[00:15:00]
I'm talking about this vacant land that could be mixed use. And then another developer that already built here in Norwalk, he went, I took him to the site and everything. And he was the one that told me that because Norwalk city has a 10% mandated affordable housing that you need to have when you're doing this mixed use buildings. And just because of that, it's not affordable for these constructions, also taken into consideration the prices on the construction products. And now they're looking at each unit at 55,000, or from 25,000 to 55,000, depending on the amenities or whatever finishes you're going to do, but they're seen as not feasible. I interview when I take that this or not from here, but the city of Norwalk also when it comes to applying for those mixes going is not too much of a developer friendly. And that's what I've been told, however, I see in the community that they're complaining that they're giving them to them very easily. That's not what I'm hearing on my side with the clients.
Eric Bernheim: Your client’s looking for those mixed use developments, or are they looking more for land and being away from the walkability, away from the beach, and so on and so forth. What are they looking for?
Judith Dominguez: They’re looking for this theory concept, where you can leave and just go walk and get on the bus or get on the train. That's what they're looking for. Because that's what also they're seeing that people are wanting to live in. They need to commute, but they don't want to drive. Sometimes it's like their bicycles, we're talking about Millennials. So that's what I'm saying.
Eric Bernheim: Great. Okay, so now when you have a client who's looking to buy, how are you advising them to make the best offer possible to try to get it in some, you mentioned you have to go out over asking price, a lot of times it has to be an all cash deal, but you have a lot of buyers that can't do that. So how would you recommend that they make their offer more appetizing for the sellers?
Judith Dominguez: So, first of all, we have a budget. So let's say their budget is 500, I'm not going to look at houses that are 500. And I told them that from the beginning, let's look at houses that are 450, 470, so that you have that extra money to put up for over asking price. And why is that, because I haven't seen any like less than asking price offers lately. Everything is either asking or two 3000 5000 above, that's when you start. And you don't go crazy, you don't do 10, 15 or also depending on the house. And I also asked my clients, how much do you like the house? Do you really see yourself living here because if you really, really, really want that, then let's just go for it and try to get it and that means putting in more money then.
Eric Bernheim: I've had clients who have accepted offers because the buyer wrote them a personal letter that made it more palatable to sell.
Judith Dominguez: That's actually one of my selling points, and one of the condos that I just sold that also went from I listed a 280 sold for 292. And we had a 2000 offer higher than that one. You're absolutely right. The sellers decided to go with this buyer just because the seller said I mean I love this house and I have friends and family in the same condominium. so, we ask for 280, we're getting 292. Let's just not push it, this guy looks great, the letter. Yeah, you're right, that works too.
Eric Bernheim: Yeah, to make the offer stand out a little bit more. Sometimes in this market, you have to do some things a little bit out of the box.
Judith Dominguez: Well also that and also eliminating the contingencies, if you see the house is in good shape, has good bones and you feel confident and then you just eliminate the house inspection and that also makes the seller think that okay, they're not going to come back later asking me for any repairs or something of that sort.
[00:20:00]
Eric Bernheim: Right, no nickel and diming. Absolutely. So, how are you advising your clients when they're selling the home? What's different in today's market than it used to be for the past 5, 10 years when Connecticut's real estate market wasn't really that great?
Judith Dominguez: Well, I ask them to take advantage of it, but also just to price it right. I mean, it's the same idea as that was 2019 and stuff. Just price it right, and then you're going to have more interest than as if you put a higher price, and then people they're not going to even be interested in, and there's going to be sitting in there. And then when I price it right, then I start getting offers over asking, and then little by little, I start telling them, you have to up your game, because I just had another one that is higher than yours and if you really want the house. And that's how you get them to fight for it in a bidding war.
Eric Bernheim: And are you recommending that they do any improvements these days, particularly, new kitchen and that sort of stuff?
Judith Dominguez: Yeah, if I have to go to the house first, obviously, when I do my presentation, because I do a market analysis to let them know what the price is, what the market is showing, what the other houses have sold for in the .5 mile radius that their houses. And if I said to the house that they need some painting or like more tidying up, I do tell them. The main thing is just taking personal items from the house. So that helps the buyer visualize themselves in their house and not thinking that they still live in here. Because buying a house is a very sentimental decision. You have to fill the house that is in there. And if you see pictures of the sellers on the walls, that doesn't help, believe it or not, it doesn't help, not a lot of people can see. So that helps and also obviously improvements, landscaping, that's in the main entrance. That's my concern.
Eric Bernheim: Okay, so that's great. So even in this market, it's still important to make a good first impression of what you're saying.
Judith Dominguez: Yeah.
Eric Bernheim: So we touched on this a little bit before, but where are all these buyers coming from? Are they renters that are now looking to buy or are they coming from New York City? Are they moving from Stamford in Norwalk, or Danbury to Norwalk? What are you seeing? Where are most of these people coming from?
Judith Dominguez: It is a mix. And that's based on this years’ experience because I work with the Hispanic community. I have a lot of people that want to take advantage of the low rates, interest rates, so they want to buy. So I have that part. I have a lot of first time homebuyers like that. A lot of renters still. And those are because I talked to them and they're like, “How much are you paying in rent?” “I'm paying 3000.” I’m like, “You can be paying a mortgage, maybe even less than that. So why don't you let me help you.” So I have a lot of that. And the condo that I sold that, the recent one, they did come from New York City. Another house that I bought in Milford, they also came from New York City. And renters I don't have any from New York City, everything is local.
Eric Bernheim: Okay. And again, what are the most active markets that you're seeing within Norwalk? What areas are driving most of the traffic? Is it the two acre zoning? Is it, you mentioned the TOD or is it just everybody's different?
Judith Dominguez: It depends on your needs. I mean, is your family a family of five or your family a family of two. I mean, single families are flying, we have none. We have very little inventory. And because I'm telling you, a lot of people want to get out of that tiny house that they have. That's why they're putting them in the market. I have two like that, it is just crazy. I'm done living here, I liked it. I like not taking care of the lawn or the repairs. But now I want to take care of the lawn and the repairs and they want to have a single family house. And Norwalk, when I drive a client, when I bring a client that is not familiar with Norwalk, I take them to the sweet points, the beach, SONO, and I don't have to do too much talking after that because they're like, “All right, sold, now show me houses.” And it's great.
Eric Bernheim: That's great. Well, it sounds like, to sum it up, what you're saying is if you're ready to get out of the market or downsize or maybe rent that now is as good a time as any.
[00:25:03]
Judith Dominguez: It’s still a seller's market. However, real estate always fluctuates, it goes up and down. Sometimes it's a seller's market, sometimes it's buyers’ market. So if you're a seller, sell now, because who knows when this is going to stop.
Eric Bernheim: Well, thank you very much, Judith, I really appreciate your time today. This was really great. Great information. And thank you.
Judith Dominguez: Thank you very much. Have a good day.
Eric Bernheim: You too.
Thank you for listening to the Real Estate Roundup. If you'd like to learn more about FLB Law, please visit our website at flb.law. I invite you to connect with me on LinkedIn to be kept apprised of developing trends in the real estate market both locally and nationally. Thank you again to our expert guests, as well as our co-sponsor the Greater Norwalk Chamber of Commerce.
