Agent Knows Her Town, Past and Present

If you want to know anything about Westport – and I mean anything – Dorothy Curran is the person to ask. Curran is the author of “The River of Names – A History of Westport, Connecticut, 1637 – 1998." It was published by the Westport Library as a companion to the tile mural created by Redding artist, Marion Grebow. “I was co-chair of the Community Campaign in 1997 for the library expansion and did all the research for the tile captions,” said Dorothy. But the captions didn’t begin to tell the whole story, so Dorothy decided to write a book giving an up-close tour of the mural’s 84 pictorial tiles.

Dorothy's been a Westport resident since 1977, and she believes in giving back to her community. She is president of the Westport Historical Society and currently getting the town fired up for the annual Holiday House Tour, Sunday December 5. Five festive homes will be open to the public, and there is a post-tour party complete with silent auction. Proceeds benefit the Society. In June you’ll find her co-chairing the Westport Woman’s Club’s Yankee Doodle Fair.

But Dorothy Curran’s main job is connecting home buyers and sellers. “I worked as a marketing consultant for many years traveling between clients in New York and Boston,” she said, and the skills she learned have translated well to her current career as a real estate agent. “I had my best year ever this year, which is ironic given the economy,” she said. “The internet drives sales these days so if you don’t have the ability to service regionally you’re going to be at a loss,” she added, noting that towns like Darien, New Canaan and Greenwich which have their own Multiple Listing Services can be out of touch with the market.

Dorothy is looking forward to the spring market, which starts at the beginning of the year. “Life cycles are driving sales just now,” she said, “People need to trade up if they have more kids, and people moving out from the city start looking in the new year.” Record low rates will encourage buyers, Dorothy believes, but adds that houses need to be in perfect condition, as people are avoiding renovations.

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