Home sales jump in December

But prices dip across much of Connecticut

A strong December showing — the best for single- family home sales since 2006 — helped the Connecticut real estate market come to a favorable finish in 2015.

The Warren Group, publisher of The Commercial Record, said Thursday in the release of its monthly real estate statistics that the state overall recorded single-family home sale gains of 17 percent in December compared with the same month a year previously. But the prices paid for homes declined by about 2 percent, leaving the statewide median at $240,000.

In New London County, sales in December were up nearly 19 percent compared to a year previously. But prices over the same period declined 8 percent to $205,000.

“Consumers are eager to buy homes,” said Timothy Warren Jr., chief executive of The Warren Group, in a podcast released with the new statistics. “Right now homes in Connecticut are affordable.”

That’s because home prices dipped throughout most of the state, including New London County, which wound up with a year-end median price for single-family homes of $208,000. That’s a 5 percent decrease from a year ago.

But not all towns followed the trend. In East Lyme, the median sales price rose more than 9 percent. It now costs $295,500 to buy a typical home in the town.

Old Lyme saw an even stronger upward trend, with the median price of $400,000 paid last year for a home representing a 23 percent increase from a year earlier.

Sprague, Stonington, Franklin, Griswold, Groton, Lisbon, Montville and North Stonington also saw upward trends in their median home prices. Lyme had the largest decrease in its median home price, 21 percent.

“Sellers seem eager to sell despite the fact that the statewide median

price for 2015 is 16.6 percent below the peak of $295,000 that was reached in 2007,” Warren said in a statement.

Statewide condominiums followed the same general trend as single-family sales last year, with sales up and prices down. In December, sales grew 2.7 percent from a year previously, but prices fell 8 percent.

For the year, condo sales rose 13 percent statewide but prices fell 3 percent. The statewide median for condos last year was $163,000, while local prices settled at a median of $130,000.

December saw 619 condo sales with a median price of $ 146,500; the sales were a 2.7 percent growth over the 603 in December 2014, and the median price represented an 8.4 percent decrease over the December 2014 median condo price of $ 160,000.

Warren said he expects continued strength in real estate sales through this year.

“As long as jobs are there, people will buy,” he said. “We could have a very strong spring market.”