Real estate listings up in February
Kevin Eagan knew the West Hartford house would go fast, given its location within walking distance of Morley Elementary School and Elizabeth Park. And that turned out to be the case, with the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England Properties broker fielding several offers on the Auburn Road house after only one weekend on the market at a listing of just under $600,000 — more than triple the price the owners paid a quarter century before.
After a sluggish first month of 2024, February real estate listings were roughly on par with a year earlier across Connecticut, giving buyers hope for more choices in the spring market that could coincide with lower mortgage rates depending on how the Federal Reserve sizes up the economy. Higher interest rates have deterred some mortgage holders in Connecticut from listing their houses for sale, given the lower interest they are paying on their loans compared to higher rates they would have to take on to finance any new purchase.
“People aren’t going to put their listings on until they see the mortgage rates start to come down, which is tied into inflation — and I think people are starting to see that,” said Paul Breunich, CEO of William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty based in Stamford. “There’s still a lot of demand out there.”
Breunich added that sellers that are pricing their properties accurately are getting anywhere from two to five offers after the first weekend. He said that should keep the inventory of houses near historic lows this spring, and by extension, keep prices high for house hunters.
Eagan says those buyers are out in force this spring, as evidenced by interest in the Auburn Road listing and others that have gone fast in West Hartford.
“It’s been a crazy February — inventory hasn’t kept up with the buyer demand at all, so everything that’s coming on and priced accordingly is getting high interest, high traffic and multiple offers with prices going well over list price,” said Eagan, who works out of the West Hartford Berkshire Hathaway office. “A year ago ... it was still hectic in a sense, houses were selling quickly and over list. I would just say it’s gone to another tier.”
West Hartford was the lone municipality in the state where both sales and listings increased both in February and for the year-to-date, data shows. Listings are up on the year as well in Stamford, Greenwich, Danbury, Hamden and Norwich, while Norwalk recorded an increase in February over the previous month.
Listings were down on the year in Bridgeport, Fairfield and Stratford.
Statewide, just four fewer Connecticut properties were listed for sale in February compared to a year ago, for nearly 2,670 in all according to Berkshire Hathaway. Sales transactions dropped by a wider margin than in January, with the likelihood of more buyers waiting to see what hits the market in March before making formal bids.
Through the first two months of the year, just under 4,000 residential properties sold in Connecticut, down more than 6 percent from the start of 2023. Breunich said that properties under contract to be sold are up in the early part of the year, however, boding well for the spring market as the calendar flips to April and May.
“The demand is there, especially in our marketplaces with New York City and people who are still leaving there,” Breunich said. “It’s neat to start seeing some green numbers instead of red numbers, which is where we’ve been for about 24 months.”