Throughout the country, real estate markets are starting to see a downshift in inventory and sales. In Connecticut, we didn’t have a big surge after recovering from the housing market crash of 2008, and as mortgage rates have stayed low, the market in Connecticut may not see as much of a decline as other marketplaces.
Below are market statistics for New Haven, New London, and Middlesex Counties for the first half of 2019, as compared to the first six months of 2018.
New Haven County
In New Haven County, the average sales price for single-family homes between January and June increased by 4.27% from 2018 to 2019. In 2018, the average closing price for the first half of the year was $266,106, and in 2019 it was $277,473.
The town of Madison had the highest average sales price in 2018 and 2019, with a 4.37% increase year over year. Branford saw the biggest increase in average sales price, 25.34%, going from $384,666 in 2018 to $482,145 in 2019.
The number of single-family homes sold in the same time frame decreased, -3.54%, with 3,645 homes sold in 2018 and 3,516 sold in 2019.
While 15 out of 27 towns in the county had a decrease in the number of units sold, others saw a significant increase. In Bethany, there was a 37.04% increase in homes sold from 2018 to 2019, and in Wolcott there was a 35.53% increase in units sold.
New London County
Overall, New London County saw an increase in both average sales price and number of units sold from 2018 to 2019. The average sales price increased by 1.92% this year, from $263,582 to $268,630.
Sprague’s average sales price increased by 36.24%, but only had 7 closings in the first half of 2018, which can skew the results. Lyme also saw a significant increase, 35.86%, from $407,132 in 2018 to $553,113 in 2019.
As far as units sold, there was an increase of 1.22% in the first half of 2019, with 1,490 units sold, compared to 1,472 units sold in the same time frame of 2018.
Norwich, Groton, and Waterford sold the most single-family homes in both 2018 and 2019. Some towns saw a sizable increase due to low numbers in 2018. For example, Sprague had a rise of 157.14% for units sold, going from 7 homes sold in 2018 to 18 sold in 2019.
Middlesex County
The average sales price in Middlesex County increased by 8.09% from 2018 to 2019. During the first half of 2018, the county’s average sales price was $309,247, while in 2019 it was $334,280.
The towns with the most significant increases in average sales price were Old Saybrook, with a 34.43% increase, and Deep River, with a 16.87% increase. Only 4 out of 15 towns in Middlesex County had a decrease in average sales price: Cromwell, Durham, Killingworth, and Westbrook.
The number of single-family homes sold in Middlesex County saw a decrease of -4.99% in 2019. Throughout the county, 895 single-family homes were sold January through June in 2019, down from 942 homes the previous year.
While some Middlesex towns did see an increase in the number of units sold (including Chester, Cromwell, and Durham) 14 out of the 15 towns had under 100 homes sold in both the first half of 2018 and 2019. Middletown had the highest number of single-family homes sold both years, with 193 sold in 2018 and 181 in 2019.
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