Home sales in Connecticut plunge even as prices soar

The median sale prices for single-family homes and condominiums in Connecticut rose significantly in March, even as the number of sales in both categories decreased, according to the Boston-based publisher of The Commercial Record.

The median sale price for single-family homes sold in Connecticut during March rose by 7.8%, or $18,000, compared to the same period in 2017, The Warren Group reported. The median sale price for single-family homes in March was $248,000.

The median sale price for condominiums in March increased by 8.3%, or $12,000, compared to the same period in 2017. The median sale price for condominiums in March was $162,500, according to The Warren Group.

Connecticut homes
Homes in Quinnipiac River Park in New Haven Connecticut

Timothy Warren, chief executive officer of the publishing company, said the March data represented the largest median single-family home price gain since September 2013.

"Inventory of homes for sale is falling and the tight supply is pushing up the median price," Warren said in a statement. "Prices held steady for the past two years, but the most recent two months show remarkable upward movement."

Single-home sales in March fell by 9.7% compared to the 2,229 that were sold during the same period in 2017. Condominium sales decreased by 8.3% in March, compared to the 675 that were reported during the same period in 2017.

The number of single-family homes sold in New Haven County during March was off 18.4% compared to the same month in 2017 . The median sale price for single-family homes sold in New Haven County during March was $215,000, a 10.3% increase compared to the same period in 2017.

The number of condominium units sold during March in New Haven County was down by 19.1%. The median sale price for those units was $136,750, an increase of 15.4% compared to March 2017.

Warren said single-family sales declined in each of Connecticut's eight counties during March. Litchfield County was the only one to see an increase in condominium sales, he said.

Donald Klepper-Smith, chief economist and director of research for New Haven-based DataCore Partners, focused on the year-to-date data for single-family home sales. Year-to-date single-family home sales were down by 4.9% while the median sale price for the first three months of 2018 rose by 6.4% to $240,000.

"The rising interest rate environment is clearly coming into play," Klepper-Smith said. "So a slowdown in sales activity makes sense from that perspective."

He speculated that the increase in median sale prices might have something to do with the exodus of residents from Connecticut and the aging of the state's baby boomer population.

"I think the rise in median prices may not be a function of a strengthening labor market, but a function of larger, more expensive homes that are now coming on the market as baby boomers retire and migrate out," Klepper-Smith said.

Tribune Content Agency
Home prices Purchase Housing markets Real estate Connecticut
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