The number of single-family homes on the market in central Connecticut tumbled by almost 30% over the last year, according to a new report from the Greater Hartford Association of Realtors, likely a result of frenzied homebuying in the spring and early summer and renewed caution among potential buyers put off by high prices.
Inventory of single-family houses in the Greater Hartford area decreased 29.5% between September 2020 and September 2021, the association found, dropping from 1,845 to 1,301.
Similar and even greater year-over-year declines in available housing stock were seen earlier this year, at the height of the pandemic homebuying rush. Analysts have attributed the trend to workers leaving congested cities and looking for more living room, quiet and privacy in the suburbs, in addition to current homeowners scrambling for more space as their homes double as full- or part-time offices.
Increased demand — coupled with materials shortages that have made building new homes difficult or at least slower — have driven up home prices across the country.
According to the GHAR report, the median sales price for the region increased 3.4%, from $290,000 to $300,000, while closed sales decreased 6.8% and pending sales declined by 13%.
GHAR CEO Holly Callanan said the drop in sales could be due to potential buyers “waiting for prices to ease.”
National figures from August largely mirrored the trends now unfolding in Connecticut, with sales slipping as prices rose.
“Although there was a decline in home purchases, potential buyers are out and about searching, but much more measured about their financial limits, and simply waiting for more inventory,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors.
