Pending in Old Greenwich

Quite a hike upstairs into the house proper, to meet new FEMA standards, but youngsters are certainly up to the task

28 Heusted Drive, asking $2,8990. This house was discussed here back when it came on. Some readers agreed with my assessment (I like it), others did not. Regardless of personal taste, however, it does reflect some of the preferences of the millennials who are moving out from the City with new families: new construction, low maintenance yards, proximity to schools and shopping. This one also comes with a water view, which is a plus.

While there are still a few who prefer, or are at least willing to settle for older homes, most of the younger couples I work with are looking for homes that have the features listed above, and other agents I know would probably agree. This observation is more than anecdotal: check the sales records of the past years. That doesn't mean an older home won't sell, but it price has to be discounted by a considerable sum from what the owner might have expected a decade or so ago, because the buyers willing to settle for them are generally young couples who can't afford newer ones. That's a gross generalization, of course, and some buyers specifically want older homes, but a 1960-1975 builder-special pseudo-colonial lacks the charm of a pre-war home, and is pretty much a "settlement house": a term I just invented, for something a buyer is settling for. And those don't command a premium.