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The Warren Group
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Pace of Home Price Declines in Conn. Accelerates in March;
Sales Fall by Nearly 30 Percent,
According to The Warren Group
Price Drops in FairfieldCountySet Tone for Rest of NutmegState
BOSTON, May 6, 2008 – Connecticut seems to have lost much of the resiliency it demonstrated throughout 2008 as the pace of home price drops catches up with those in neighboring states. Sales of both single-family homes and condos continued to fall substantially in March, according to The Warren Group, publisher of The Commercial Record.
“Throughout 2007, it seemed like the NutmegState – and particularly FairfieldCounty – was avoiding the housing slump that gripped its neighboring states,” said Timothy Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group. “But this year, it’s a different story. The state is quickly catching up with the correction affecting Massachusetts and Rhode Island.”
The median price of single-family homes fell 7 percent, from $288,500 in March 2007 to $268,250 in March 2008. That’s the biggest monthly price drop since April 1995, when prices declined 7.9 percent. During the first quarter of 2008, the median price has fallen 5.8 percent, from $282,500 to $266,000.
FairfieldCounty experienced the state’s biggest price drop in March and the entire first quarter. Single-family median prices fell 10.1 percent in March, from $565,000 to $508,000. During the first quarter, prices fell 8.5 percent, from $555,000 to $507,750. Sales in the county fell dramatically, declining 37.3 percent in March from 659 to 413. In the first quarter, sales declined 31.9 percent, from 1,691 to 1,152.
Single-family home sales throughout the state declined 27.9 percent, from 2,609 in March 2007 to 1,882 in March 2008. During the first three months of the year, sales fell 27.3 percent, from 6,730 to 4,896.
“This is the biggest price drop in Connecticut in 13 years, and FairfieldCounty is leading the way,” Warren said. “It’s clear that after such a long run-up in prices – they increased by double-digit percentages during almost every month between 2002 and 2005 – the state was due for a correction.
“We’re also seeing increases in lis pendens, the first stage of the foreclosure process in Connecticut. They were up 54.5 percent during the first quarter of this year, from 3,789 last year to 5,855 this year. That means more and more owners are facing foreclosure and being forced to put their homes on the market, increasing supply. The victims of foreclosure, for the most part, are not able to re-enter the housing market right away, so there are thousands fewer people in the market for a new home,” Warren said. “It will take some time before the number of foreclosures starts to stabilize and home sales and prices pick up.”
Condominiums also experienced a large drop in sales in March, falling 35.8 percent, from 1,079 to 693. First quarter sales were down 33.8 percent, from 2,780 to 1,840.
The median price of condos fell 6.9 percent in March, from $204,000 to 190,000. First quarter prices were down 2.6 percent, from $195,000 to $190,000.
Complete statistics for cities, towns and counties available to members of the media by request.
About The Warren Group
The Warren Group, based in Boston, is the publisher of Banker & Tradesman, The Commercial Record and a series of association publications. As the premier provider of real estate data in New England, The Warren Group offers a range of real estate products and services for professionals and consumers searching for real estate and financial information. For more information about The Warren Group, please visit www.thewarrengroup.com or call 800-356-8805.
Percent Change in Median Price, Connecticut, Last Five Years
April 2003-March 2008