The statewide median sale price of single-family homes in Connecticut fell 0.9 percent and single-family home sales dropped 21 percent in August compared to August 2005, according to The Warren Group, a real estate and financial data company.
It was the first time since 1998 that the statewide median single-family home price dropped. The 21 percent drop in sales was the largest since 2000.
The state’s single-family median sale price was $287,500 in August, down from $290,000 in August 2005. The median sale price had risen steadily since November 1998 to a high of $296,250 in July 2006.
A total of 3,875 single-family homes were sold in August 2006 in the state, which is the lowest sales figure in August since 1995. Statewide single-family home sales have dropped 11 straight months and 17 out of the last 19 months dating back to February 2005, The Warren Group reported.
Condominium sales in August dropped 10.8 percent compared to August 2005, with 1,557 units sold. Condo sales have fallen 10 straight months, according to The Warren Group. The median sale price of condos increased 0.5 percent, to $192,500, compared to August 2005.
For the first eight months of the year, Connecticut’s single-family home sales have dropped 14.1 percent while the median sale price rose 2.8 percent to $280,000.
Year-to-date condo sales have dropped 8.4 percent compared to the same period last year while median sale prices have risen 4.7 percent to $191,000.
Timothy Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group, said in a statement, “Home sales have been falling for well over a year, and now we’re seeing sale prices starting to fall. As we’ve seen in Massachusetts, where prices are now falling 5 to 10 percent from year-before periods, buyers are taking their time and driving hard bargains. We expect to see more of this in Connecticut over the next few months.”
Single-family home sales have dropped in each of Connecticut’s eight counties during the first eight months of 2006. Fairfield County continues to experience the steepest decline, with sales dropping 22 percent for the year-to-date period and 29.6 percent in August, according to the announcement.
Hartford County sales fell by the smallest margin at 6.6 percent. Windham, New Haven, Middlesex, New London and Litchfield counties all posted double-digit-percentage declines in single-family home sales.
Median single-family home sale prices have risen in each county for the first eight months of the year compared to the same period last year. In New Haven County, sale prices during this period increased 8.6 percent to $255,000.
Hartford and Middlesex counties were the only counties that experienced a drop in prices in August. While Fairfield County’s unit sales have dropped, the median sale price increased 6.6 percent during the first eight months of the year compared to the same period last year, The Warren Group reported. Fairfield’s $560,000 median sale price is nearly twice as high as the next highest county’s, Middlesex, at $285,000, the report states.
Six of Connecticut’s eight counties saw condo sales fall during the first eight months of the year. Fairfield County experienced the biggest percentage drop at 15.2 percent, followed by Windham County at 15.1 percent, New Haven County at 11.2 percent, Middlesex County at 10.9 percent, and Litchfield County at 10.4 percent.
Tolland and New London counties increased 10.7 percent and 4.8 percent, respectively, compared to the same period in 2005, and Tolland County’s unit sales jumped 23.3 percent in August compared to August 2005.
Condo median sale prices rose in each of the eight counties over the eight-month period. New London County had the highest jump in median sale price during that period, at 18.3 percent, while Fairfield had the smallest increase at 0.9 percent.
Fairfield County’s condo median sale price remains the state’s highest, while Litchfield’s is the state’s lowest at $152,000, according to the report.
