FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Editorial Contact:
Michelle Heaney
The Warren Group
(617) 896-5370
Brendyn Schneider
The Warren Group
(617) 896-5397
AprilHome Sales, Prices Take Dangerous Dive,
According to The Warren Group
Expensive FairfieldCounty Properties Out of Financing Reach
BOSTON, June 12, 2008 – Real estate along the “Gold Coast” rose faster than other areas of Connecticut during the real estate boom. But FairfieldCounty home prices are now falling faster and harder than anywhere else in Connecticut.
Home sales statewide plunged 26.7 percent in April, according to the latest data from The Warren Group, publisher of The Commercial Record newspaper. But FairfieldCounty sales dropped 30 percent in April, compared to the same month last year.
“When the mortgage market dries up, it hurts everyone,” said Timothy Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group. “With stricter underwriting guidelines, fewer people are able to come up with the down payments needed to buy. Because FairfieldCounty has the highest median prices of homes for sale than anywhere else in Connecticut, that makes it much, much harder for young couples to qualify for home financing there.”
The median sales price for a single-family home in FairfieldCounty is currently $500,000. Statewide, the number is $263,000.
Single-family home sales statewide in April 2008 stood at 1,923. That was down 26.71 percent from the 2,624 sales tracked by The Warren Group in April 2007. Year-to-date sales are down 27.32 percent, from 9,382 for the first four months of last year to 6,819 this year.
The median price of single family homes also swooned in April. The median for the month dropped 9.8 percent, to $263,000 from $291,600 in April 2007.
The drop was faster than the four-month total. Year-to-date, the median price of single-family homes in Connecticut is down 7 percent, from $285,000last year to $265,000 this year.
Condominium sales in Connecticut were also caught in the April showers, with sales dropping 24.72 percent from 1,068 in April 2007 to 804 this year. Year-to-date condo sales are down 31.54 percent, from 3,856 to 2,640. Despite that, condo prices are moderately rising. They were up 12.82 percent in April, from $195,000 to $220,000. The year-to-date median price rose 2.05 percent from $195,000 to $199,000.
“Although condo sales are down, buyers are flocking to quality,” said Warren. “They are taking advantage of the real estate downturn to acquire the best condos possible, and that’s been keeping median prices relatively stable – at least for now.”
Warren also noted that the state this year unveiled several new luxury condo projects – such as Blue Back Square in West Hartford – where average condo prices are between $600,000 and $1 million. “Those sales have been robust, and they go a long way to explaining the strength of the condo median sales price.”
FairfieldCounty, meanwhile, has been getting hit hard by the slump of the real estate market. In April, single-family home sales plummeted 30 percent over the previous April’s numbers. Year-to-date sales are down 32 percent, from2,347 in the first four months last year to just 1,608 this year.
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 The Commercial Record, Banker & Tradesman 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.