Amid potential sellers’ reluctance to enter the housing market and record demand from younger homebuyers, Greater Hartford has seen significant drops in how long individual homes are on the market.

The typical are home went under contract in eight days in September, eight percent faster than the prior month and 72 percent faster than this time last year, new data from Zillow shows.

Entry-level homes are selling in eight days, 67.9 percent faster than this time last year, Zillow reported, while the most expensive homes in the market are selling in 18 days, but are still 57.1 percent ahead last year’s pace.

The declines mirror big drops in new listings and inventory reported this week by the Greater Hartford Association of Realtors. New listings decreased 27.80 percent last month, from 820 homes in August to 592 in September, and inventory dropped 56.14 percent, from 2,663 homes to 1,168, during this same timeframe. Year-to-date, new listings are down 20.26 percent year over year, from 7,849 to 6,259.

“A 50 percent drop in inventory is significant and will likely continue to drive up prices,” GHAR CEO Holly Callanan said in a statement. “The high level of closed and pending sales shows that buyers are extremely motivated, so multiple offers and bidding wars are likely. Seeking the advice of a Realtor is key in this market.”

The statistics show plenty of eager homebuyers still exist in the pipeline, both locally and nationally, as mortgage interest rates hover around 3 percent.

“Normally, the housing market begins to slow down around this time of year as the weather cools and buyer activity fades, but it’s 2020, and nothing is normal this year,” Zillow senior economist Chris Glynn said in a statement. “Instead of slowing down, we’re seeing the housing market continue to speed up as autumn continues. The buying season we’re seeing this fall more closely resembles peak market activity we’d see in the spring in a typical year. It remains to be seen whether the ‘traditional’ buying season continues to be pushed back because of Covid-19 and activity will taper off in coming months, or whether historically low inventory and continued strong demand mean homes will continue to sell incredibly quickly through the rest of the year.”

Across the country, many homes sold just days after hitting the market in September regardless of price, Zillow said, with the median U.S. home going under contract in just over two weeks. This is one day quicker than August, about 44 percent faster than this time last year, and significantly faster than even a typical spring selling season. May is when the market is usually the hottest, but homes this September moved six days faster than they did in May 2019.

The most expensive homes ($488,000 and up, in Zillow’s national analysis) are staying on the market the longest, going under agreement in 33 days. This has helped drive up median list prices as expensive homes stay on the market longer than less expensive ones.

The days-on-market spread between the most and least expensive homes is tightening, though, signaling broad demand, Zillow said. During a normal year, that spread is typically tightest in May and widens by about 10 days by September, according to Zillow research. However, in yet another example of unusual seasonal trends, it only took five more days in September to sell the most-expensive homes than it did in May, about half of what is usually expected for this time of year.