August marks the unofficial end of summer. With people squeezing in the last of their vacations and children heading back to school, August can slow down slightly in real estate. Below, we take a look at the market statistics for single-family houses in Middlesex, New London, and New Haven Counties.
Middlesex County
In Middlesex County, there were more single-family homes on the market in 2019 than in 2018, and it took an average of 16 more days to sell this year. For buyers, this means that there is inventory. Because homes are sitting on the market for a bit longer than 2018, there may be more room for negotiation.
The average sales price jumped up in 2019 – from $310,711 to $343,313. Even with negotiation from buyers, sellers are getting more money for their houses than in 2018, with an increase of approximately $8.5 million in total volume of sales.
Middlesex County Statistics
| August 2018 | August 2019 | |
| Active Listings | 1,112 | 1,151 |
| Average Days to Sell | 57 | 73 |
| Average Sale Price | $310,711 | $343,313 |
| Number of Sales | 209 | 214 |
| Volume of Sales | $64,938,596 | $73,468,916 |
New London County
Even with less inventory in 2019 in New London County, houses took an average of 71 days on the market before being sold, and the total number of sales decreased by 44. Similar to Middlesex County, this gives buyers a better opportunity for negotiating the purchase price.
The average sales price went up just slightly (less than $4,000), which didn’t make a significant difference for sellers this year. Because there were fewer sales in 2019, the volume of sales decreased by over $11 million.
New London County Statistics
| August 2018 | August 2019 | |
| Active Listings | 1,678 | 1,545 |
| Average Days to Sell | 59 | 71 |
| Average Sale Price | $277,986 | $281,925 |
| Number of Sales | 341 | 297 |
| Volume of Sales | $94,793,259 | $83,731,866 |
New Haven County
Of these three shoreline counties, New Haven is the only one where the average sale price of single-family houses went down – from $305,653 in 2018 to $293,403 in 2019. Homes also took an extra 10 days to sell, on average. These statistics, coupled with low mortgage rates, gave buyers an edge in August.
Sellers should note that even though the sales price dropped slightly, there were more closed transactions in 2019, which means that houses are selling. Another positive for sellers is that there was less inventory in 2019, with almost 300 fewer active listings, which means less competition.
New Haven County Statistics
| August 2018 | August 2019 | |
| Active Listings | 3,484 | 3,197 |
| Average Days to Sell | 53 | 63 |
| Average Sale Price | $305,653 | $293,403 |
| Number of Sales | 817 | 865 |
| Volume of Sales | $249,610,948 | $241,176,989 |
Mortgage Rates
For both FHA and Conventional loans, mortgage interest rates have remained low. FHA rates are between mid and high 3% range for 30-year fixed-rate loans, and Conventional rates are slightly higher. For 15-year, USDA, and VA loans, rates are dropping below 3.5%.
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*All data taken from SmartMLS.