The median sale price for single-family homes in Connecticut hit the highest level for August in five years, even as the number of houses sold decreased by 4.2% over the same period a year earlier, according to the latest data from the Massachusetts-based publisher of the Commercial Record.
August data released by The Warren Group Wednesday showed the median sale price of single-family homes increased by 2.4% to $271,500. That represents a $6,250 increase in the median sale price.
Over the first eight months of 2018, the median sale price rose 4% to $260,000, which represents an increase of $10,000.
The increases in the median sale price came even as the number of homes sold for August and over the first eight months of this year declined. There were 163 fewer single-family homes sold in Connecticut in August compared to the same period a year earlier.
There were 23,234 single-family homes sold in Connecticut through the end of August, 81 fewer than the same period the year period in 2017. That represents a 0.4% decrease in year-to-date home sales.
Timothy Warren, chief executive officer of The Warren Group, said based on historical trends seen with single-family home sales data, "we can probably expect the price to start edging lower on a month-over-month basis during the remainder of 2018."
"However, if inventory fails to keep up with demand — like we've seen in the last few months — year-over-year price gains could continue for a while longer," Warren said in a statement.
Connecticut's housing market saw growth in both the number of condominium sales sold in August as well as the median sale price.
The number of condominium sales in Connecticut increased by 3.8% in August to 956 units. Year-to-date, the number of condominium units that were sold increased by 1.6% to 6,128.
The median sale price for condominiums rose by 4.7%, or $8,050, to $177,950. Condominium sales in the first eight months of this year increased by 2.8%, or $4,625, to $168,125 compared to the same period in 2017.
Warren said the median condo sale price for August at its highest level thus far in 2018.
"Condos sales also reached a new high for the year, but activity still remains below where it was at its peak in 2006," he said.
New Haven County saw the number of condominiums sold in August decline by 4.5% to 234. Year-to-date condominium sales in the county grew by 3.9% to 1,586 compared to the first eight months of 2017.
The median sale price for New Haven County condominiums that were sold in August grew by 0.6% to $146,000. The median sale price for condominiums over the first eight months of this year fell by 1.4% to $140,000.
Single-family home sales in New Haven County during August decreased by 3.6% to 776. Single-family home sales over the first eight months of 2018 increased by 2.7% to 5,211 compared to the same period a year earlier.
The New Haven County housing market saw solid gains in median sale price. The single-family median sale price in August increased by $11,000, or 4.8%, to $241,000.
During the first eight months of this year, the single-family home median sale price increased by 4.5%, or $10,000, to $230,000 compared to the same period in 2017.
