Sales of single-family homes and condominiums in Connecticut plummeted more than 35 percent in January from a year earlier, according to a report today by The Warren Group.
There were 1,057 single-family home sales in January, a 36.1 percent decline from 1,654 in January 2008. It was the slowest sales pace for single-family homes for the month of January in the 21 years that Boston-based The Warren Group has been tracking Connecticut’s residential real estate market.
“These numbers are dramatic and disturbing,” said Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group. “Rather than seeing some kind of moderation in the housing decline it appears to be picking up steam. What this indicates is that while housing problems may have started the financial meltdown, the financial meltdown is now prolonging the housing problems.”
The median selling price for single-family homes statewide fell 17.1 percent to $223,000 from $269,000 during that period. The $223,000 median price was the lowest price recorded for the month of January in six years. January marked the fourth consecutive month that the median selling price for single-family homes has dropped by double-digit percentages.
Statewide, condo sales plunged to their lowest level in 16 years, according to The Warren Group. There were 354 condo sales transactions recorded, down 40 percent from 588 in January 2008. Only February 1993, with 338 recorded condo transactions, had fewer sales. Condo sales have fallen by more than 30 percent for 10 out of the last 13 months.
Despite the steep decline in sales transactions, the median price for condos dipped only 2.4 percent to $183,500 from $188,000 last year.
