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Editorial Contact:
Katie Curnutte
The Warren Group
(617) 896-5370
Conn. Home Sales Plunge To Lowest Number in 14 Years;
Prices Down for Fourth Month This Year,
According to The Warren Group
Sales Continue to Slide by Double-Digit Percentages
BOSTON, Dec. 10, 2007 – Single-family home sales in Connecticut continued their steady drop in October, reaching the lowest number of sales during that month since 1993. The median price of single-family homes also fell slightly, marking the fourth month of 2007 in which prices have dropped, according to The Warren Group, publisher of The Commercial Record.
“Clearly, Connecticut’s immunity to the national housing problem is over,” said Timothy Warren Jr., CEO of the Warren Group. “The state is showing all the symptoms of having caught this housing flu, and it looks like the fever is getting worse.”
Sales of single-family homes fell 17.5 percent, from 3,198 in October 2006 to 2,640 this year. The last time sales fell below that level during October was in 1993, when there were 2,590 sales. Connecticut at that time was in the midst of one the worst recessions in its history.
Year-to-date sales are down 7.4 percent, from 32,230 during the first 10 months of 2006 to 29,831 this year.
The median price of single-family homes dropped 0.8 percent in October from $267,000 to $265,000. Prices also fell in September, February and March, but have risen during every other month. The year-to-date price is up 1.1 percent from $279,900 last year to $283,000.
“Connecticut’s housing market has fared better than those of its neighbors throughout most of 2007, but July’s credit crisis hit New England hard, and it didn’t spare the NutmegState this time,” said Warren. “Those effects have spilled over from September, when they first became evident, and sales continued to plunge in October. Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts all saw sales fall by nearly 20 percent, and prices also declined.”
Condominium sales in Connecticut during October fell by 9 percent, from 1,223 last year to 1,113 this year, while year-to-date sales slumped 9.5 percent from 12,837 to 11,620. But those condos that are selling, are selling for increasing prices. The median price for condos in October rose 12.2 percent from $189,000 to $212,000. The year-to-date median price is up 6 percent from $191,000 to $202,500.
Statistics for all cities and towns available by request.
About The Warren Group
The Warren Group, based in Boston, is the publisher of The Commercial Record in Connecticut, Banker & Tradesman in Massachusetts, as well as 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.
Number of Single-Family Home Sales, Connecticut
Jan. to Oct., 2004-2007