Greater Hartford’s home and condo sales slowed for the second consecutive month in May, but prices continued to climb despite threats posed by the COVID-19 outbreak.
There were 561 single-family home sales in the Hartford area last month, down 82 sales, or about 12.7%, compared to May 2019, the Greater Hartford Association of Realtors (GHAR) said.
Meanwhile, median prices for homes rose in May to an average of $265,000, up almost 2% from $250,000 in the year-ago period, GHAR said.
In 2020, the real estate trade association said year-over-year sales have stayed nearly unchanged with 2,322 sales, and their median price has increased 6.3% to $249,900. New listings have dropped more than 20% to 3,448.
GHAR CEO Holly Callanan in a statement said now is an ideal time to list a property for sale.
“Mortgage rates are still quite low and buyer confidence is on the rise,” Callanan said.
The Hartford area’s condo market also received a mix of good and bad news Tuesday.
GHAR says area condo sales plummeted 25% in May, from 172 to 129. Median prices, however, rose 17% to $198,750. That occurred as new listings decreased by 31.6% last month.
Nationally, the coronavirus pandemic hasn’t made a serious dent in Americans’ willingness to buy new homes or fix up their current houses.
The housing market experienced a downturn shortly after the pandemic ground much of the U.S. economy to a halt in March and April. But buyers are back, looking for homes — and that’s helping to lift the stocks of builders, retailers and home goods suppliers in the process.
On Tuesday, the National Association of Home Builders reported a surge in its builder confidence index for June. Another report from property condition data firm BuildFax also showed that “an increase in construction hiring suggests slowdowns in housing activity may be short-lived.”
A CNN report contributed to this story
