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Fairfield Realtors: Too Early To Know Impact Of GE's Move On Housing Market

FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. — Many General Electric employees may soon be putting their houses on the market as the company moves from Fairfield to Boston. But local Realtors said it’s too early to draw conclusions on how the company’s departure will affect the housing market across Fairfield County.

Higgins Group Real Estate Realtor Andrea Viscuso said GE employees who own less expensive properties — those under $500,000 — may wait longer to sell than those who own more expensive properties.

Higgins Group Real Estate Realtor Andrea Viscuso said GE employees who own less expensive properties — those under $500,000 — may wait longer to sell than those who own more expensive properties.

Photo Credit: Contributed

“Certainly the higher-level executives will be relocated to Boston,” said Berkshire Hathaway’s Mary Crist, the company’s office leader in Westport. “This will create sales opportunities in our communities.”

These homes may be attractive to “the suburb-seeking New Yorkers (whose) rents are escalating,” Crist added.

Higgins Group Real Estate Realtor Andrea Viscuso said GE employees who own less expensive properties — those under $500,000 — may wait longer to sell than those who own more expensive homes. Employees whose homes are valued in the millions may list sooner rather than later, she said.

“When you’re selling a large high-end home, it doesn’t sell in a 100 days,” Viscuso said. “You’re looking for a very niche client.”

Some employees may opt to rent their houses instead of selling them, Viscuso added.

The housing markets from New Haven County to Westchester County, N.Y., may be impacted by the move, she said. But she expects Fairfield, Easton, Weston, Wilton and Westport to feel the strongest effects.

If GE employees are planning to sell, they should make sure their homes are in good shape before listing them. There is plenty of housing inventory in anticipation of the spring, Viscuso said.

GE said it would sell its 65-acre campus in Fairfield and move to Boston in an announcement Wednesday. Employees will begin to move to a temporary location in Boston starting in summer of 2016. The company’s full move wii be completed in several phases by 2018, according to the company. Of the 800 people employed on the Fairfield headquarter campus, only 200 are expected to move to Boston. GE has not explained the future for the other 600 employees, who may find themselves out of work.  

William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty brokerage manager Brad Kimmelman, who is based in Fairfield, said that people “shouldn’t panic” over the move because of the timeline.

“It’s going to take them a while to pull out and move,” Kimmelman said. “It won’t happen overnight.” 

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