Strong year for home sales in greater Hartford area
Numbers were strongest in years, even as area slogged through COVID-19 crisis
Sales were the strongest in years in 2020, as the pandemic pushed buyers working from home to look for bigger or new living spaces for their families.
Greater Hartford’s home sales were the strongest in years in 2020, a new report Friday shows, as the pandemic pushed buyers staying at home to work to look for bigger or new living spaces for their families.
Sales of single-family houses jumped nearly 14% compared with 2019, according to the Greater Hartford Association of Realtors, an industry group which tracks a 27-town stretching from Suffield to Rocky Hill and Canton to Willington.
The median sale price — in which half the sales are above, half below — surged more than 10% to $270,000 from $245,000, for 2019. All price ranges saw significant activity — even the higher end of $600,000 and above that had been particularly slow — while the $200,000 to $350,000 range was the hottest, real estate agents said.
The association’s report also suggested the strong pace of sales will continue into at least the first part of 2021. In December, pending sales jumped 36% compared with the same month a year ago.
“Near-record low interest rates and strong buyer demand is the trend for the near future,” Holly Callahan, the association’s chief executive, said.
According to mortgage giant Freddie Mac, the rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 2.79% with an average 0.7 point this week. While that is up from 2.65% a week ago and 3.65% a year ago, the rate is still at near-record lows.
Callahan said she doesn’t believe the political unrest in the aftermath of November’s presidential election will have an affect on the home sale market.
Soaring sales were a bit of surprise early
in the year and that trend continued through the year. In October, Hartford County — a larger geographic area than that tracked by the association — topped a list of the hottest home sale metro areas in the country, according to real estate giant RE/MAX.
And earlier this week, William Pitt-Julia B. Fee/ Sotheby’s International Realty pointed to the strong sales elsewhere in Connecticut, including Fairfield County, the shoreline, and Litchfield. Those areas of Connecticut saw sales surge as New Yorkers fled the city for open space, with working at home providing more flexibility but still offering commuting options.
Greater Hartford saw less of an impact from urban flight, but real estate agents said buyers were starting to move up the Connecticut River Valley.
By comparison, in 2019, both sales of single-family houses and the median price rose less than 1% compared with the previous year.
In Greater Hartford in 2020, inventory remained stunningly low once buying gained momentum in the spring. Multiple offers were common, sometimes pushing properties above their listing prices. Buyers were forced to move quickly as competition with other house hunters heated up.
Usually there is a slowdown in buying activity during the holiday season, but not in 2020.
In December, closed sales soared more than 50% compared to the same month a year ago, the association reported. Inventory remained tight, with the area having less than a two-month supply of properties for sale. Anything less than a six-month supply is considered a seller’s market.