As Sun Belt metros see demand for homes evaporate in the summer heat, by one measure Connecticut’s three major markets are doing well.
A new Redfin report found that only 16.9 percent of New Haven listings fell out of contract in July, compared to 14 percent in Fairfield County and 13.7 percent in Hartford.
Today’s buyers are more likely to utilize contract contingencies that allow them to back out without financial penalty if something goes wrong, Redfin researchers said, and an increasing number of homes on the market is giving them confidence to do so. In addition, rising prices and mortgage rates have risen so rapidly in some markets that some buyers making offers at the top of their price range have been forced to bail on homes between signing a purchase and sale agreement and closing on the house.
The shares of homes falling out of contract in Connecticut’s three major markets are slightly elevated compared to many others in the Northeast, like Boston (12 percent), Philadelphia (11.3 percent), Washington, D.C. (12.1 percent), New York City (7.1 percent) and Long Island’s Nassau County (5.9 percent).
However, they are far below the national leaders like Jacksonville, Florida (29.3 percent) and Las Vegas (27.4 percent).
“Home-purchase cancellations may begin to taper off as sellers get used to a slower-paced market,” Redfin Deputy Chief Economist Taylor Marr said in a statement. “Sellers have already begun to lower their prices after putting their homes on the market. They’ll likely start pricing their properties lower from the get-go and become increasingly open to negotiations.”
