Connecticut home sales grow 9.2 percent in October, prices slip

Connecticut single-family home sales rose in October, recording 2,610 sales, a 9.2 percent increase over the 2,379 sales in October 2014, according to a new report from the Massachusetts-based real estate data tracking firm and publisher of The Commercial Record, The Warren Group.

According to the report, there have not been this many single-family sales in October since 2006. However, in 2006, the median price of a home sold in October was $274,586. Last year, it was $241,600. In October 2015, the median single-family home sales price was $235,000, a 2.1 percent decrease compared with the same month in 2014, and 16.8 below the median price 10 years ago. This year to date, the median sales price is been $249,000, 1.9 percent below last year”™s mark of $251,500 through the first 10 months.

“The continued increase in sales volume is a welcome sign for Connecticut”™s local economy, as many new home buyers spend money furnishing their homes, and homes on the market provide work for contractors and tradespeople before and after a sale,” said Tim Warren, Jr., CEO of The Warren Group. “The ongoing decline in home prices has been modest, but puzzling given that home sales are up 14.2 so far this year. Homebuyers obviously like the fact that prices are still well below their historical peaks.”

In Fairfield County, year-to-date single-family home sales from October 2014 to October 2015 increased 12.89 percent from 5,735  to 6,474 homes, but the year-to-date median price decreased 3.13 percent from $480,000 to $465,000.

Single-family median prices have been up and down across Connecticut”™s 8 counties over the last 10 years. Statewide, the median price has increased just 4 times in 10 years. And, in the past 5 years, it has increased only once, despite a consistently growing volume of sales.

Condo sales continued their growth, recording 712 sales in October, up 6.43 percent year over year from the 667 sales in October 2014. Year to date, there have been 6,587 condos sold, a 13.1 percent increase from the 5,824 through the first 10 months last year.

The median sales price for condos in October was $155,000, a 7.7 percent decrease from October 2014”™s median of $168,000. The year-to-date median condo price has been $165,000, a 2.9 percent decrease from $170,000 through October in 2014.