While sales are slowing in Fairfield County, the sale of this home at 115 Fern St. in Fairfield closed on June 29 for $1.56 million after 45 days on the market. It was listed for sale with an asking price of $1.6 million.
July sales were down by about 16 percent across Connecticut, but in Fairfield County, the drop is much more dramatic. According to statistics from The Warren Group, parent company of The Commercial Record, the number of single-family home sales in Fairfield in July was down more than 30 percent compared with sales in July 2005.
The slowing pace of sales means more for-sale homes are accumulating on the market, according to local real estate agents.
“Inventory is up dramatically,” said Mike Tetreau, sales vice president at the Fairfield office of William Raveis Real Estate.
Agents say that in some towns, inventory of homes available for sale have increased by as much as 90 percent to 100 percent, which translates into an eight- to 10-month supply of for-sale homes, up sharply from this time last year.
Meanwhile, however, prices continue to rise in Fairfield County. The median price for single-family homes sold in July was $596,250, up 4.6 percent from the median price of $570,000 in July 2005. The median home price in Fairfield is the highest among Connecticut’s eight counties; the second highest price statewide in July was registered in Middlesex County, where the single-family home median was $308,702, up 6 percent from July last year.
The market, so far, is dealing well with the downward trend in sales, Tetreau said. There is no sense of panic, mostly because the sellers who have their homes on the market are not under much pressure to sell quickly. But eventually, inventories will become even larger, and people will need to sell. That pressure will have an effect on prices, which already are flattening somewhat.
Demographics are a big reason why sales are falling, Tetreau said. Fairfield County has a large population of baby boomers, many of whom may be looking to sell their large homes. There are not as many home seekers among the younger generations, however.
“I think part of what we’re seeing is that the baby boomers are at the point that they’re downsizing,” Tetreau said.
There has been a lot of activity in the market for condominiums and small homes, said Pamela Fernberg of Fairfield County Real Estate in Fairfield.
“Prices in the high end are definitely either leveling or coming down,” she said.
Prices in the mid-range are stable, she said.
The trend of sales dropping started last summer, Tetreau said. He said he expects it to continue for a few years.
Year-to-date statistics for single-family homes are not much more encouraging than July numbers. Last year from January to July, 6,892 homes were sold in Fairfield County. That dropped by almost 21 percent this year, when 5,475 homes were sold during the same seven months. The year-to-date median price between January and July 2005 was $522,500. This year it rose more than 6 percent to $555,000.
Condominium sales also dropped significantly in July. In July 2005, 458 condos were sold in Fairfield County. That dipped by about 13 percent to 397 in July of this year. Year-to-date sales at the end of July also dropped by 13 percent, from 2,902 last year to 2,531 this year.
Condominium prices rose slightly. In July of last year, the median price for condos in Fairfield County was $299,900. That rose 1 percent to $303,000 in July 2006. The year-to-date statistics were similar. Last year, the median price of condos from January to July was $287,250. The median condo price rose by about 3 percent to $295,000 during the same months this year.
The changes in the market have made Realtors busier than they have been, Tetreau said. There are more homes to show, but buyers are shopping around more and are taking longer to buy.
“We’re working harder and chasing fewer paychecks,” he said. “Buyers are fussier.”
Across the state, similar statistics are in evidence, but none as dramatic as in Fairfield County. Statewide, sales of single-family homes dropped more than 16 percent from July 2005 to July 2006, from 4,516 last year to 3,774 this year. The median price, month-over-month, stayed relatively steady, climbing less than 1 percent from $295,000 last year to $296,250 this year. The year-to-date price also rose, by about 4 percent, from $296,900 through July last year to $279,900 this year.
Condos fared slightly better. Month-over-month sales fell by less than 5 percent, from 1,518 in July 2005 to 1,446 in July 2006. Year-to-date sales fell farther, by about 8 percent, from 9,560 last year to 8,800 this year. Median prices for condos rose by about 3 percent, increasing from $192,000 in July 2005 to $197,500 in July this year. Year-to-date, prices have risen less than 6 percent, moving from $180,000 between January and July of last year to $190,000 through July this year.
Only one county in the Nutmeg State saw a drop in home prices. In Litchfield County, single-family home prices fell more than 9 percent from July 2005 to July 2006. Year-to-date home prices in Litchfield County, however, rose slightly by 0.4 percent to $250,000 compared with the median price through July last year.
