Report: Connecticut Home Sales Decline Eases in September

Single-family home sales in Connecticut dropped 5.3 percent in September from a year ago, bucking a 12-month trend of double-digit percentage declines, according to a new report from ""The Warren Group"":http://www.thewarrengroup.com, publisher of %{=font-style: italic;}The Commercial Record% and a provider of New England real estate data.
Connecticut home sales fell to 2,163 from 2,283 in September 2007. The 5.3 percent decline in sales is modest compared to the prior 12 months when monthly home sales sank year-over-year anywhere from 16.3 percent to 32.8 percent, The Warren Group reported. Still, year-to-date sales plunged 24.5 percent to 19,381, compared to 25,680 during the first nine months of 2007, the company said.
""The moderate slide in home sales in September compared to earlier monthly declines doesn’t necessarily mean that the state’s housing market is heading toward a recovery,"" said Timothy Warren, CEO of The Warren Group. ""Foreclosures, job layoffs, and the failure of financial firms and other companies are all weighing heavily on home buyers’ minds and will affect pricing and sales in the future.""
But according to John Bolduc, EVP of the Norwich-based Eastern Connecticut Association of Realtors, the local market will bounce back in the second quarter of next year, a Connecticut news site %{=font-style: italic;}""Theday.com"":http://www.theday.com% reported. ""We are at or very close to the bottom of the market. It's a great time to buy,"" Bolduc told %{=font-style: italic;}Theday.com%.
Third quarter single-family home sales in Connecticut tumbled 22.8 percent, posting the worst third quarter for sales in 16 years, The Warren Group reported. A total of 7,471 single-family homes traded in the third quarter of 2008, compared to 9,682 during the same period last year.
Home prices didn’t show much improvement in September, The Warren Group said based on its regional data for the state. The median home price fell 7.5 percent to $260,000 from $281,000 in September 2007. The year-to-date median home price is down 8.3 percent to $275,000 from $300,000 in 2007, the company said.
Meanwhile, Connecticut's condominium market continued to weaken, according to The Warren Group. Condo sales in September plummeted 29.7 percent to 705 from 1,003 last year, based on the company's housing study. That's the slowest September sales pace in 15 years, the company said. Year-to-date sales nosedived 32.9 percent to 6,845 from 10,201. According to The Warren Group's most recent data, third quarter condo sales in Connecticut are down 34.8 percent, falling to 2,364 from 3,628 during the same months in 2007.
Condo prices haven’t retreated as much as single-family home prices, however, The Warren Group said. The statewide median condo price in September fell below $200,000 to $199,500. That’s 5.2 percent lower than the $210,500 median price The Warren Group recorded for September 2007. Year-to-date, the median condo price in Connecticut has fallen 2.4 percent to $200,000 from $204,900, The Warren Group reported.