Before the COVID-19 pandemic began to stifle the national economy in February, Connecticut’s home buying market continued to record “notable gains” in sales and prices, new data shows.
Sales of single-family homes in February rose to 1,721 closings, up 4.2% from 1,652 compared to the year-ago period, Boston publisher The Warren Group said Wednesday. That marked a three-year high for February home sales, said CEO Timothy Warren.
Median single-family home prices also recorded a 12-year high in February as prices jumped almost 10% from $225,000 to $247,000 on a year-over-year basis, he said.
Through the first two months of 2020, there were 3,741 single-family home sales, or a 6.1% increase, in Connecticut. The median sale price for the first two months of 2020 was $250,000, also up 8.7% vs. a year ago.
Despite a strong start to 2020, Warren said Connecticut’s home buying market will record fewer closings over the coming months due to the coronavirus health crisis.
“Our data reports on closed real estate sales and I expect that some closings may have been postponed in March as the stay at home recommendations took effect,” he said. “For the months ahead, we must expect that fewer people will be out home shopping and fewer new listings of homes for sale. Both of these will lead to fewer closings.”
[Read more: Realtors say home buying interest falling amid COVID-19 crisis]
In the condo-townhome market, February sales climbed by 10.6% with 534 transactions and the median price increased 10.3% to $160,000.
Year-to-date, there were 1,103 condo sales, an 8.5% increase from 2019. Their median sale price also rose 7.3% to $161,000.
“The median condo sale price of $160,000 marked a nine-year high for the month of February and 534 transactions marked the most sales for the month since February 2008,” Warren added. “However, like the single-family market in the coming months, I expect the current situation with COVID-19 to have a significant impact on activity starting in the second quarter.”
Joe Cooper is HBJ’s web editor and real estate writer. He pens “The Real Deal” column about commercial real estate.
