The real estate firm Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England/New York/Hudson Valley Properties (BHHS) has issued a report analyzing the single-family house situation in Connecticut for the first quarter of 2022.
The report concluded that total sales of single-family homes in the state decreased approximately 10% due to lack of inventory. It said that several markets have seen price increases of more than 20% year over year, with Waterbury seeing prices increase more than 40% since 2020.
The report found that inventory in all entry-level categories across the state is very limited, with many homes receiving 20 to 30 offers. It said that the entry-level end of the market in the state generally is in the $300,000 to $400,000 bracket but in the southeastern part of Connecticut it generally starts at $1 million.
The report said that most single-family homes are selling after fewer than 20 days on the market. It found that in the first quarter in Connecticut there were 8,303 new listings and 6,682 total sales. It noted that in the first quarter of 2017 there had been a similar number of sales, 6,348, but back then new listings were dramatically higher at 13,482.
“Across all price points, if we had the inventory, we would sell it,” said Candace Adams, president and CEO of BHHS. “We anticipate that total sales in 2022 will look much like they did in 2019 ”” a market that was widely considered to have been robust, but balanced.”
The average single-family sale price in Greenwich during the first quarter of 2022 was $2.94 million, according to BHHS. In Westport, it was $2.24 million while Darien recorded $2.1 million.
The report suggested that prospective buyers in the entry-level market needed to consider looking at lower-priced properties so they”™d be able to afford to make higher offers. For example, if $400,000 is what someone can afford, they should begin looking at homes in the $350,000 range and be prepared to overbid.
BHHS found that even though Covid-19 restrictions have eased, and New York City seems to be recovering, shoppers for second homes continue looking in the suburbs while simultaneously maintaining a presence in the city. BHHS expects that rising interest rates will impact the market but will affect entry-level buyers more than other categories.
“The real challenge of this market is in the psychology of realizing that we are still in a very healthy market,” Adams said. “Last year (2021) was so incredibly robust that even a very positive year wanes in comparison. We see tremendous ongoing interest in residential real estate, particularly single-family homes, so we are encouraging buyers to stay the course.”
