The Newtown Board of Realtors appointed their newest president, Robert Morey, in January this year. Morey has been practicing real estate full-time since 1985, and first joined the board in 2004. Morey has served as the president once before and is ready to take the title once again.

The Newtown Board of Realtors is an organization that promotes private property rights, follows a strict code of ethics established by the National Association of Realtors, and provides business and educational support for members.

“[The board is] the place where questions can be answered, where they can network with each other, things like that,” Morey explained, “We depend on each other and we develop great relationships … It’s very collegiate.”

Morey said the board is “your friends. We’re your neighbors. We’re here. It’s not like we’re in some ivory tower, we want to be there to share information [and] answer your questions.”

The Newtown Board of Realtors is dedicated to keeping the community’s best interest the focus of their mission. They do this in many ways, but one of the most notable examples is the scholarships they give to high school students heading to college.

Every year, the scholarship is named after a realtor that has shown great loyalty to the town and board. This year, the board decided to name the scholarship the Carol French Scholarship for her longtime membership with the Newtown Board of Realtors. The Connecticut Association of Realtors granted Newtown resident Morgan Farra the Raymond F. Gates Scholarship back in June.

Morey discussed some of Newtown’s real estate market as ticket prices on houses have steadily increased across the nation. This year, 136 sales on houses have closed to date. Houses on the market were listed for an average of 35 days for $671,500 this year. In 2023, 309 houses were sold on average for $625,000. This year, 10 condo sales have closed for an average of $538,350 and were on the market for an average of 40 days. Compared to 2023, only 22 condos were sold for an average of $439,800.

During the pandemic, people weren’t moving, so there was nothing to buy. “That speaks to the inventory issue … There’s been fewer sales,” Morey said. “If you could picture an analogy of getting off 84, there’s an accident at the exit ramp. You’re trying to get off and traffic just backs up and backs up and backs up. That’s what happened to the real estate market … we haven’t met that demand yet. It’s still up on the highway ramp trying to get off the highway!”

“Fortunately inflation, just this week, is really beginning to tamp down a little bit … Every little bit helps,” Morey said, “That’ll make it more affordable and that’ll bring more people to the market, but it’s going to take a long time to clear that exit ramp.”

=====

Reporter Sam Cross can be reached at sam@thebee.com.