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Homebuyers—
es here can range from between $600,000 to $1 million. We don’t have houses at $500,000. There are some at $600,000 and a lot of condos, but very few houses.” So, where are the best places for entry-level homebuyers in Fairfield County? Adams noted that Greenwich’s “lower-priced properties are still selling,” although Stacey Loh, executive vice president of the Greenwich Association of Realtors, noted that pricing in her town’s entry-level housing market is uncommonly wide. “Price points range from $300,000 up to $800,000 in our market,” she said. “Generally speaking, the median price is close to $2 million. When the lower-priced houses come on and are priced fairly, there are buyers to scoop them up.” Melissa Rwambuya, a senior sales associate with William Raveis’ New Canaan office, promoted New Canaan as a popular location for entry-level homebuyers who are looking for residences at the higher end of the spectrum. “In the past 12 months,
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Purdue—
over people.” Purdue has denied the lawsuits’ allegations. “These complaints are part of a continuing effort to try these cases in the court of public opinion rather than the justice system,” a company statement said. “The states cannot link the conduct alleged to the harm described, and so they have invented stunningly overbroad legal theories, which if adopted by courts, will undermine the bedrock legal principle of causation.” A message left for a spokesperson of Richard Sackler, Purdue’s president and CEO in the early 2000s, was not immediately returned. The past month has marked one of the busiest periods in the past couple of years for Purdue-related litigation. Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia
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JUNE 10, 2019
Clockwise from top left: Candace Adams, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Services New England; Linda Skolnick, a Realtor in Coldwell Banker’s Westport office; Craig Oshrin, a Stamford-based Realtor with Coldwell Banker; and Phil Kuchma, president of the Kuchma Corp. in Bridgeport. Photos by Phil Hall.
we’ve either sold or (had) pending sales on 89 properties between $700,000 and $1.25 million,” she said. She added the town “definitely has a lot to offer first-time homebuyers. New Canaan taxes are lower than the surrounding towns and we are a wonderful walking town — walkability is very high on the list of
and Wisconsin each sued in May. Idaho, Michigan and Nebraska remain the only states not to have announced lawsuits against Purdue in the past few years. Kentucky settled with Purdue in 2015 for about $24 million. In the firm’s largest settlement of the past 10 years, it reached a $270 million agreement in March with Oklahoma to resolve that state’s lawsuit. Those funds would focus on programs to combat the opioid epidemic in the Sooner State. Richard Sackler, one of eight Sackler family members named in Connecticut’s lawsuit, has emerged as an especially controversial figure in the litigation. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong last month released an unredacted version of the state’s complaint, which he said showed “shocking and offensive” emails from 2001 that
FCBJ
millennials who are used to walking around Brooklyn or Manhattan. And unlike other towns around us, New Canaan has a very, very attractive downtown.” Cynthia Hughes, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker in Danbury, pointed out that northern Fairfield markets are offering entry-level homebuyers lower property taxes than
the markets to the south along with access for traveling to lucrative jobs in New York City. “I commuted into the city for 30 years,” said Hughes, a Danbury native. “We are close to the rail line. Bethel has its own train station, and in Brookfield you can just jump on I-84 and go right over the border. We have a high level of commuters.” On the eastern side of the county, Mark Markelz, a real estate agent in William Raveis’ Southport office, held up Shelton as a hot spot for entry-level homebuyers. “Shelton is coming in at a median price point of $350,000,” he said. “It has lower property taxes compared to other communities and it has built up a strong business market over the years.” Craig Oshrin, a Stamfordbased Realtor with Coldwell Banker, praised Trumbull as a “hotbed market” with entry-level properties priced in the $350,000 to $500,000 range, adding that the town’s school system is a magnet for young families. He also noted next-door Bridgeport has been a growing player in the entry-level housing market, and talk within the city’s government on lowering
property taxes could help strengthen its appeal. Phil Kuchma, president of the Kuchma Corp. in Bridgeport, noted that the city’s housing prices were attractive to “people who have not yet had the opportunities to save a lot of money for a down payment or move up in the employment market.” But he admitted that a downside was the underfunded Bridgeport public school system, a situation exacerbated by problems in tapping the city’s real estate scene for revenue. “The city has a lot of nonprofit, government and churches. Less than 50% of Bridgeport’s grand list value pay the real estate taxes,” he said. “It is very, very difficult.” Coldwell Banker’s Hughes commented that those going for the lower-priced properties are opting for 3% conventional mortgages rather than 3.5% FHA mortgages, and there is very little hesitation for making a purchase. “If a property is in good shape, it typically sells in four days,” she said. Oshrin found the entry-level homebuyers are not intoxicated by HGTV programs extolling the fun
in renovating old properties. “Millennial buyers don’t want to do major updates and renovations,” he said. “They want move-in ready.” The condo market is also highly appealing to this crowd. “The condo market is very strong,” said Douglas Elliman’s Elwell. “People want convenience, being located right off the train line and not worrying what happens outside.” And Wayne Frankel, CEO and regional owner of Greenwich-based Exit Realty of Connecticut, glumly acknowledged that entry-level homebuyers have to gird themselves to the state’s higher-than-average property taxes and the effect that SALT, the cap on using state and local taxes as deductions on federal income tax returns, has had on the local real estate market “The Trump tax plan affects everyone,” Frankel said, referring to the changes to the federal tax law that put a $10,000 cap on the amount of state and local taxes, including property taxes, which can be taken as deductions on federal returns. “Property taxes are so high in Connecticut, even in the entry-level market.”
tion, in general ... or opioid addiction, in particular, and, of course, my views have evolved and changed,” Richard Sackler said in the deposition. “At that time, I was very concerned that the balance that had been struck by the FDA between the benefits and risks of strong opioids might be upset, perhaps with terrible
consequence for patients and for doctors, who wanted to treat them.” Richard Sackler gave the deposition for a group of Multidistrict Litigation cases consolidated in a federal court in Cleveland involving about 1,800 cities and counties across the country that have sued Purdue and other opioid makers. None of the pending cases have gone to trial yet, leaving open the possibility of more individual or multistate settlements. An attorney for four of the Sackler defendants said in a recent interview that they want to reach a “global settlement” with the plaintiffs. Tong said he still plans to take Connecticut’s case to trial. Paul Schott is a staff reporter with Hearst Connecticut Media. He can be reached at pschott@ stamfordadvocate.com or 203-964-2236.
The Purdue Pharma headquarters at 201 Tresser Blvd. in downtown Stamford.
Richard Sackler exchanged with an unnamed acquaintance. At the time, he was about halfway through a four-year stint as Purdue’s CEO and president. In one correspondence, Richard Sackler said “abusers aren’t victims; they are the victimizers.” Representatives of Richard Sackler argue that
those messages do not reflect his current views on the opioid crisis. He elaborated on the 2001 emails — saying that he “probably was quite emotional” when he wrote them — according to excerpts from a court deposition he gave in March. “I’ve gotten a lot more information about addic-