Stonington, Old Lyme among 50 most expensive ZIP codes in state.
Priciest clustered in Fairfield County
Among the 50 most expensive ZIP codes in Connecticut for 2017, only two are in New London County, according to a new ranking from the real estate data website PropertyShark.
Ranking at 31 on the list is 06378, the ZIP code for Stonington. Its 2016 ranking was 36. Up from 46 in 2016 to 40 last year is 06371, the ZIP code for Lyme-Old Lyme.
There are 438 ZIP codes throughout the state, though PropertyShark only analyzed 262, as the company only considered ZIP codes that had five or more sales close in 2017 and excluded package deals.
PropertyShark determined the most expensive ZIP codes by looking at all home transactions closed last year, including condos, coops, single-family homes and two-family homes.
Statewide, 26 ZIP codes — including those for Stonington and Old Lyme — saw increases in their median sale price from 2016 to 2017, according to PropertyShark.
Unsurprisingly, the ZIP codes with the costliest home sales are clustered in southwestern Connecticut.
PropertyShark showed seven ZIP codes with median sale prices above $1 million, all in Fairfield County. The next seven highest ZIP codes also all are in Fairfield County. The highest median sale price was $1,597,500 for 06830 in Greenwich, a 16.2 percent increase from the prior year.
The decrease from the highest median sale price to the 50th-highest is exponential, with the top 25 ranging from $1,597,500 to $422,000, and the bottom 25 from $420,000 to $325,000.
According to Property Shark, the median sale price in 2017 was $380,000 in Stonington and $350,000 in Old Lyme.
This is in line with the 2018 Southeastern Connecticut Housing Needs Assessment released by the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments, which listed Stonington with a median home value of $326,600 in 2015, the highest of any town in the region. Old Lyme was not included on the list.
Elizabeth Carlson, agent for the Old Lyme-based company Shore & Country Real Estate, said she saw the market become more robust in 2017, with more houses for sale. She said the houses selling well are those in the $300,000 to $700,000 range.
Charity MacPherson, owner of Village & Shoreline Properties in Stonington, said the largest increase in activity she saw last year was in the lower range. She noted that interest rates remain low but people see the potential for them to go up.
Relative to surrounding communities in southeastern Connecticut, MacPherson attributes the higher median sale price in Stonington in part to less dense zoning, allowing for larger parcels.