[NYP] They were the castoffs of local real estate — until coronavirus came to call.Some houses in suburban towns and rural areas outside of New York City sat on the market for years.
But then the pandemic spurred cooped-up urbanites to run for the hills and sparked an uptick in property sales within a few-hour radius of Manhattan. Many say they’ll never return to the city.
In Connecticut, a charming colonial home in Darien lingered on the market for 1,083 days, while a 1980s contemporary in Salisbury ticked over the 1,500-day mark.
But then COVID-19 hit. They went from being the last kids picked on the team to idyllic quarantine dreams.
The four-bedroom colonial at 208 West Ave. in Darien, a tony town near Stamford, listed in September 2018 for $980,000 but drew little interest until March. (Like many houses that linger on the market, it was likely overpriced at the start.)
Then, Halstead agent Cheryl Williams says, she conducted multiple virtual showings before the colonial sold to a young couple for $750,000. They had to cancel their May wedding, Williams adds, "so they decided to buy a house instead."