Connecticut Home Sales Remain Weak in April
Posted on July 7th, 2011
Sales of single-family houses in April remained weak in Connecticut but purchase prices rose slightly as the state entered the spring home buying season, traditionally the busiest for buying a new home.
House purchases that closed in April fell 28 percent, to 1,538 compared with 2,139 a year earlier, according to the statistics from The Warren Group, which tracks the housing market in New England and New York.
The median price, however, perked up a bit, rising 2.3 percent, to $240,500 from $235,100 a year ago, according to Warren.
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The decline in sales, local real estate experts have said, is partly because purchases were pumped up in the first half of 2010 by the federal home buyers tax credit. The credit, designed to jump-start the housing market nationally, did not have the long-lasting, hoped-for effect.
Although median price — in which half the sales are above, half below — rose, it might be more a sign that purchases are in higher-priced houses, rather than an overall increase in purchase prices. The tax credit primarily targeted “starter” houses, which are at the lower end of the price range.
Curt Clemens Sr., owner of Century 21 Clemens & Sons in Hartford, said he wasn’t surprised that sales in April were down, given the tax break a year ago and a tough winter when showings were sparse. Closings in April reflect properties going under contract 45 to 60 days earlier.
“I expected the first half of the year to be slow, very candidly,” Clemens said. “I expect the second half to be stronger.”
Clemens said he bases his outlook on increased sales activity at his firm in May and June.
The conditions would appear to favor a strengthening market, with mortgage rates remaining low. But uncertainty about the economic recovery is making employers skittish about adding more employees. As a result, would-be home buyers remain reluctant to make big purchases, not sure they will be able to find a job if they lose theirs.
Sales fell across the state’s eight counties, with the deepest decline registered in Tolland County, where house sales were off 49 percent in April. Median prices fell in four of eight counties, with the deepest decline — 6.8 percent — in New Haven County.
In Hartford County, sales in April plunged nearly 37 percent compared with a year ago The median sale price rose 3.4 percent, to $217,000 from $210,000 in April, 2010.
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