Local housing stats reflect inventory shortage

The first-quarter housing statistics the Eastern Connecticut Association of Realtors released last week for New London and Windham counties show that while single-family home sales are down, volume is up, due to an increase in the median sale price.

The first quarter of 2017 saw 874 single-family home sales, while that figure was 809 for the first quarter of 2018. But the median sale price rose from $190,500 to $205,000, leading to an increase in total volume from $191.1 million to $197.8 million.

“That is in line with what the national stats are saying about inventory shortages, and we’re experiencing that anecdotally in the field as well,” said ECAR CEO Susy Hurlbert.

Due to inventory shortages, she has noticed that when a “really nice house” comes on the market, there are in some cases multiple offers. Hurlbert explained that by “really nice house,” she’s referring to a home that is in good condition, has been well-maintained structurally and has features many buyers desire, like a master bedroom on the main floor.

The median single-family home sale price increased by 10 percent in New London County but only 3.79 percent in Windham County, though the increase in the average sale price was higher for Windham County.

Across both counties, the number of commercial sales increased from 14 to 24, while the number of days on the market increased from 112 to 330.

“It is a changing, volatile market, because the way people are shopping and the need for retail space is changing,” Hurlbert said.

Residential land sales were up nearly 53 percent, from 36 during this time last year to 55 this year. Land sales also had the highest increase in median sale price of any category, at 25.14 percent.

“It looks like land is picking up,” Hurlbert said, “which is a very positive sign because there hasn’t been a lot happening in the building market — in house construction — so this is a good sign for the economy overall.”

The number of multifamily sales decreased from 82 to 72, while mobile home sales were down from 37 to 25. The median sale price went down for mobile and commercial, while it went up for single-family, land and multifamily.

The median price for a condo remained flat, at $140,000.