It might not look like much, but 693 Central Avenue in Bridgeport is part of a trend. The house was sold in February, a period that saw a spike in home sales in Fairfield county.
Indeed an investor snapped up the foreclosed home for just $35.000. The plan is to rehab the property and rent it out. And that's why experts say the 27 percent jump in sales of single family homes is not an indication a recovery is underway.
Every transaction in Bridgeport, except for the sale of the Central Ave. house was a short sale, a transaction in which the owner sells the property for less than the what's owed on the mortgage.
To give you an idea of how much the market's changed, last month there were nearly 30 home sales in Bridgeport. Over the same period 3 years ago there were 500.
House values are still down 15 to 20 percent from 2006.
