The Greenwich single-family median in Q2 2026 was $3,655,000, according to the July 6, 2026 release from the Greenwich Association of REALTORS®. At that price, the state's 2.25% conveyance tier is no longer a rarity reserved for waterfront estates. It is the median transaction.
That reframes what buyers and sellers should actually be studying in the two weeks after an accepted offer. The visible numbers on the portal, price, taxes, square footage, are settled by the contract. The numbers that move at the closing table live somewhere else: in the land records, in a soil scientist's delineation, in a neighbor's willingness to sign a driveway agreement, and in the tiered math of Connecticut's transfer tax. Out-of-town buyers, particularly those crossing from Westchester, tend to underestimate all four.
The transfer tax math at the current median
Connecticut's conveyance tax is tiered: 0.75% on the first $800,000, 1.25% between $800,000 and $2.5 million, and 2.25% on any portion above $2.5 million. The 2.25% tier, added by Public Act 19-117 effective July 1, 2020, is what practitioners call the mansion tier. Greenwich then adds a municipal conveyance tax of 0.25% on the full price. The seller pays both at recording, and no deed is recorded until they are paid, per Connecticut General Statutes §12-494.
Because the Q2 2026 median crosses $2.5 million, most Greenwich sellers now pay tax in all three state brackets. The June 2026 monthly figure from the Greenwich Association of REALTORS® was $3,812,500, which reinforces the pattern rather than smoothing it out.
| Sale price | State conveyance | Greenwich municipal (0.25%) | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1,500,000 | $14,750 | $3,750 | $18,500 |
| $3,000,000 | $38,500 | $7,500 | $46,000 |
| $5,000,000 | $83,500 | $12,500 | $96,000 |
Sellers who pay tax at the 2.25% rate may be able to claim a credit against Connecticut income tax on the portion attributable to that top tier, and the credit can carry forward. That is a conversation for the seller's tax counsel, not the listing agent, but it is worth raising before signing.
A useful contrast for buyers moving north: Connecticut has no mortgage recording tax and no buyer-side mansion tax. In Westchester County, the mortgage recording tax alone runs 1.05% of the loan, and New York's buyer-paid mansion tax begins at 1% on residential purchases above $1 million. The Greenwich seller writes a larger conveyance check; the Greenwich buyer writes a smaller closing check than the same buyer would in White Plains.
Wetlands declarations sit on the land records
Greenwich's Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency regulates activity not only inside wetlands and watercourses but also within an upland review area that typically extends 100 to 150 feet from the wetland edge. That buffer is wider than most out-of-town buyers assume, and it captures a long list of ordinary improvements the buyer might have already sketched into their pro forma:
- Grading, re-sloping, or excavation near wetlands or watercourses
- In-ground pools, equipment pads, and larger patios
- Septic installation, repair, or replacement near a watercourse or within the review area
- Stormwater work, including pipes, swales, and dry wells
- Driveway expansions or new curb cuts requiring fill
- Additions, new foundations, sheds, garages, or major landscape changes that alter drainage
The item to search for during title review is a "Declaration of Wetlands and Watercourses" filed on the land records. The Town of Greenwich lists this among its most frequent buyer questions for a reason: the declaration follows the land, and any open violation or unresolved restoration plan can delay closing and create title and insurance issues that lenders often require resolved or escrowed before funding.
The practical move is to pull the Wetlands Agency and Building and Zoning files on the property early, ask the seller for any prior delineation reports and permits, and, if wetlands are suspected, engage a soil scientist to confirm boundaries before contingency dates run.
The Well and Septic Rider is not a formality
Greenwich is a hybrid infrastructure town. Sewer covers the villages and the coast; wells and septic serve most of the interior. When the Connecticut Association of REALTORS® Well and Septic Rider is attached to a purchase contract, several timing requirements land on the buyer at once.
Under Connecticut General Statutes §19a-37(d), the results of a private residential well inspection performed within six months of the sale must be reported to the municipal public health authority where the property is located.
That single sentence changes how the buyer treats the well test. It is not a private diagnostic. It is a filed record with the Town's Department of Health, and it will surface for the next buyer as well.
Under the Public Health Code, the seller is responsible for retrofitting a septic tank with a riser if one is required. Buyers should also request the septic as-built diagram and any prior pumping and inspection records from the seller. A standard home inspection is not a well inspection. Home inspectors are generalists, and Connecticut inspectors typically refer to a well company when flow falls below three gallons per minute. The buyer who assumes the general inspector covered the well finds out at the wrong moment.
One overlap deserves particular attention: septic repairs inside the IWWA regulated buffer require a wetlands permit in addition to the Health Department approval. A failed field on a back-lot property near a watercourse can compound both timelines.
Shared driveways carry a statute now
A meaningful share of Greenwich homes, particularly on the interior and along the coast's older lanes, sit on a common driveway or private easement. Before October 1, 2014, missing driveway maintenance agreements regularly killed transactions at the underwriting stage, because Fannie Mae required a recorded agreement on any private road.
Connecticut Public Act 14-67 resolved that. The statute makes the owner of any residential property benefiting from a private easement responsible for maintenance, repair, restoration, and snow removal. When more than one property benefits, costs are shared according to any written agreement on file, and, in the absence of a written agreement, in proportion to benefit received. Fannie Mae accepts the statute in lieu of a recorded PRMA.
Two footnotes matter at the closing table. The statute does not define how proportionate benefit is calculated, which leaves room for future disputes among neighbors. And where a written agreement exists, its terms control. Buyers should read any recorded agreement before signing, not after, because unusual cost allocations, for instance a fixed share regardless of use, will bind them.
What this looks like in the current sub-market
The Greenwich market is not uniform, and neither is the leverage that these diligence items give either side. In the Q1 2026 sub-market breakdown compiled by Charlie Vinci, Old Greenwich and Cos Cob averaged under 40 days on market with sale-to-list prices above 103%, meaning consistent overbidding. Back Country and North Parkway averaged 105 to 120 days on market with sale-to-list prices below 97%. South of Post Road commanded the highest price per square foot in town.
That distribution matters because the diligence items above hit those sub-markets differently. A quick Old Greenwich or Riverside transaction is more likely to involve sewer service and a conveyance-tax calculation that lands squarely in the mansion tier; the pressure point is timeline, and a buyer who tries to add a wetlands contingency after signing has almost no leverage. A backcountry transaction, longer on market and often below list, is more likely to involve well, septic, IWWA buffers, and a shared driveway; the pressure point is diligence depth, and the buyer has time to use it.
The Greenwich mill rate for fiscal year 2025–26 is 12.041, and property taxes are prorated at closing based on the closing date, with the seller crediting the buyer for the portion of the tax period after closing. On a $3.8 million sale, that proration line item is real money, and it is one of the few numbers on the settlement statement that both sides negotiate directly rather than inherit from state statute.
FAQ
Does the seller always pay Connecticut's conveyance tax?
Under CGS §12-494, the grantor is legally responsible, and no deed is recorded until the tax is paid. The purchase contract can allocate costs differently between the parties, but the statutory obligation sits with the seller.
If the well test comes back below three gallons per minute, is the deal dead?
Not automatically. It typically triggers a referral to a well contractor for a yield and recovery evaluation, and it becomes a point of negotiation under the Well and Septic Rider. Buyers planning irrigation systems should confirm capacity beyond baseline domestic use.
What is a "Declaration of Wetlands and Watercourses" and does it prevent me from building?
It is a notice recorded on the land records that the property contains, or abuts, regulated wetlands or watercourses. It does not prohibit construction on its own. It confirms that IWWA jurisdiction applies and that regulated activities require Agency review, generally within 100 to 150 feet of the resource.
Do I need a private road maintenance agreement to close?
Not since Public Act 14-67 took effect on October 1, 2014. Connecticut statute allocates maintenance and snow-removal costs proportionally to benefit in the absence of an agreement, and Fannie Mae accepts the statute. If a written agreement is already recorded, its terms control, and buyers should read it before closing.
Sophisticated transactions in Greenwich are won or lost in the space between the accepted offer and the closing table, where wetlands files, well records, easements, and the conveyance tax stack meet the calendar. If you are preparing to buy or sell in this market and want senior-level counsel on how these items apply to a specific address, Charles Paternina welcomes a private consultation.
