Connecticut Housing Activity Slow, But Still Creeping Upward

A slight increase in single-family home sales in Connecticut for the month of July marked the fifth time in 2014 that single-family home sales increased year-over-year, according to a report released on Wednesday by the Warren Group, publisher of the Commercial Record.

The 3,152 homes sold in Connecticut in July represented the highest total for any month since June 2010, when 3,400 homes were sold in the state, according to the Warren Group. July's total of 3,152 was an increase of less than 1 percent from June's home sales of 3,129 in Connecticut. Year-to-date, through the end of July, home sales in the state have fallen by 1.2 percent (from 14,230 down to 14,059).

Single-family home prices in Connecticut declined year-over-year by 3.9 percent in July, the Warren Group reported. The median home price ticked downward month-over-month for the fifth month in a row, from $286,000 in June to $275,000. The year-to-date median sales price decreased from $262,000 at the end of July 2013 to $255,000 at the end of July this year, a decline of 2.7 percent.

"The housing market in Connecticut was relatively flat in the first seven months of the year with sales down 1.2 percent and the median price down 2.7 percent," the Warren Group CEO Timothy M. Warren, Jr said. "The numbers so far this year are not as upbeat as last year when sales and median prices increased by 6.0 percent and 8.3 percent, respectively. The market seems to be recovering, but not rebounding to new highs. Only 12 of 169 towns in Connecticut had a median price in 2013 that is higher than their pre-recession high in 2005. If mortgage rates remain low and home prices reasonable, I expect we will end the spring selling season in a positive way."

Condo sales in Connecticut declined by 5 percent year-over-year in July (down from 803 to 763), according to the Warren Group. Sales of condos increased by almost 2 percent year-to-date, however, totaling 3,829 from January to the end of July 2014 compared to 3,758 for the same period last year.