The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Litchfield County Real Estate sees its first million dollar sale
TORRINGTON — Kristen Duchene didn’t start her 29th year thinking she’d become a real estate broker.
But that’s exactly what she is — and her business, Litchfield County Real Estate, is more successful than she ever dreamed. In January, the firm sold its first $1 million property, a house on Weed Road, putting it on top of market sales in Litchfield County.
Making a change
Duchene looked into becoming a broker in 2021, after being encouraged by a friend, Marshall Cohen. “He encouraged me to take a real estate course, and I passed,” she said. “I created the company after that, with all my passion and energy.”
Duchene studied at Northwestern CT Community College and has worked in television and film. After her father, Russell Duchene Jr., died in 2010, her mother, Agatha, had to sell her home.
“Losing my dad was very hard for me,” Duchene said. “He was my rock.”
She had also just experienced a difficult breakup, and wanted to make a change in her life.
“I also love Torrington,” she said. “I saw younger people leaving their hometown, going somewhere else, and I want them to know that there are opportunities right here. You have to look for them, and do something yourself.”
With $500, Duchene applied for her broker’s license and began looking for an office. “It was really exciting,” she said. “I wanted to do something really great, and it was happening.
“There’s so much potential here in the city,” Duchene said. “The mayor (Elinor Carbone) is working really hard, and so are a lot of other people, and I wanted to be part of that somehow. They’re really trying to make it better, so people won’t leave.”
Some of the challenges young people face, she said, are housing and jobs. “Housing is a problem for a lot of people,” she said. “A lot of people can’t afford to buy a house. The taxes are higher. People from out of state bought properties for investments, and that affected the housing market ... Rents are up. It’s hard.”
But if larger companies moved into the city, and provided better, local employment opportunties, it would give peoplea reason to come to Torrington, or stay, she said.
“I want people to stay here,” Duchene said.
‘The market was booming’ When she began developing her firm, Litchfield County Real Estate, in 2021, she had no idea what would
happen. “It was scary,” she said. “I applied for an LLC, and designed signs. I focused on creating the brand. In 2022, I started hiring people. I got a Main Street office above Sasso (pizza). But the market was booming.”
In 2021, Hearst Connecticut Media reported that “fierce” bidding wars and competition with all-cash offers, coupled with lightning-fast sales are the challenges that young, first-tim eho mebuyers looking for “starter” homes in Connecticut are facing.
“Action in the Connecticut real estate market has been profound this past year thanks to intense demand generated by the pandemic. In particular, city dwellers have sought new digs throughout the adjacent suburbs — subsequently ramping up prices, speeding out inventory and making traditional mortgage deals much harder to come by, especially for first-tim eho mebuyers who likely are not able to make cash offers,” according to Hearst.
“Houses are selling so fast and it’s very hard for the young millennials,
unless they’re making a lot of money,” explained Richard Higgins, CEO of the Higgins Group, which has offices throughout Fairfield County, in the Hearst report. “We did over a billion dollars last year,” he said. “It was our best year ever. Every tim eI turned around, we were selling a $5-million house, an $8-million house.”
That “fierce” activity has abated somewhat, said Duchene, but her firm has remained busy and the phones keep ringing. A house on Weed Road recently sold for $1 million, the firm’s biggest sale, and is the highest priced hom ein Torrington, she said.
The right decision
RaeLyn Lawrence joined Litchfield County Real Estate in February 2022. A first-time agent, she was hired immediately after passing her real estate exam. Lawrence is an occupational therapist, and has worked in Torrington’s public schools for 20 years.
Joining forces with Duchene and the other members of the team, she said, was a very good decision. She joined a real estate team that also includes Andrea Garfield, Jared Tedesco, Lauren Gardner, Kelsey Menard, John Beavers, Cyra Summit and Casey French.
“My passion is to help people, to help them find places to live and furnish them,” she said. “We’re a great company, and we are helping each other grow. Kristen and I work together; nobody’s territorial. We are very supportive; we all trust each other.”
The housing boom has changed, but Lawrence agreed with Duchene. “I had two closings (last) week, and one this week,” she said. “I’m very busy. It’s going smoothly. I have 15 to 20 clients that are looking, waiting to see what pops up. So houses are still selling, still moving.”
When she started selling in 2022, Lawrence was told that winter is a slow time, and that people prefer to buy and sell in warmer weather. “But it’s a different winter this year,” she said. “There’s not a lot of snow; people can go out. With listings, a condo can sell in two days. It’s busy.”
Duchene is looking forward to another successful year.
“I made $250,000 last year, with a $500 investment, “she said. “There are opportunities here.”
To reach Duchene or learn more, visit litchfieldcountyre.com.