Home sales in Greater Hartford continued to surge in August, a new report shows, with houses selling faster and at higher prices than the same month a year ago.
Sales of single-family houses in Greater Hartford rose nearly 24% last month compared with a year ago, pushing the median sale price -- where half the sales are above, half below — up 14.2% to $290,000, according to the monthly report from the Greater Hartford Association of Realtors, an industry group.
The association tracks 27 towns and cities stretching from Suffield to Rocky Hill and Canton to Willington.
Fewer homes on the market — the inventory in August was down 34% compared with a year ago — is contributing to even more bidding wars than were already common before the pandemic as buyers sought out the most desirable properties.
"Typically, sales slow as the school year begins but our Greater Hartford housing market remains solid," GHAR CEO Holly Callanan said, in a news release. "Multiple offers could continue until inventory levels off."
The Greater Hartford home sale market — and overall, in Connecticut, has been struggling to regain ground since the last recession more than a decade ago. especially when it comes to sale price and home value.
But in the first eight months of the year, home sales in Greater Hartford are up 6.26% over the same period last year even after accounting for declines in April (-6.2%), May (-15.3%) and June (-23.6%) as the pandemic put a hold on homebuying. The median home sale price is up almost 7% through August and the average days spent on the market is down about 7% as well.
The smaller condominium market also is showing momentum, with a 6% year-over-year increase for August for sales. The median sale price rose 10.5% to $176,750, compared with $160,000 in the same time period.
Experts say the Connecticut real estate market is not likely to cool through the end of the year and well into 2021, even as the state slogs through shutdowns, quarantine, hundreds of thousands of lost jobs and wages taking a hit.
