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Unlike every other major housing market in America, only Greater Hartford saw a year-over-year drop in homes for sale last month. It suggests homes aren’t piling up unsold.

Data released Thursday by Realtor.com showed the number of active listings in the Hartford-area market slipped 7.7 percent in December, compared to December 2021. That compares to a 25.7 percent increase in the Greater Boston market and a 4 percent rise in the New York City metro area.

Nationally, the active inventory of homes for sale grew 54.7 percent year-over-year in December, Realtor.com said, but is still well below pre-pandemic levels: down 32.8 percent compared to the December 2017-2019 average.

At the same time, the number of new listings in Hartford was down 29.8 percent, compared to 27.2 percent in Boston, 29.1 percent in New York and a 21 percent fall nation-wide – suggesting that unlike in other cities, Hartford-area homes may be seeing stronger demand despite overall economic headwinds. Realtor.com analysts suggested that “mid-sized markets that offer better affordability and solid jobs and economies [like Hartford]…may continue to be attractive to homeshoppers, especially those with the flexibility to relocate.”

Still, it’s not as though demand isn’t slowing, locally.

Median days on market rose by 10 days year-over-year in Greater Hartford to 65, seven days in Boston to 59 and five days in the New York area, to 81. Nationally, the figure rose by 11 days, to 67 total days, with Realtor.com analysist writing that “[m]odestly rising incomes (+4.6% year over year in December) and a robust jobs market (unemployment remains low at 3.5% in December), cannot completely offset lower buyer purchasing power, and as a result, homes are sitting on the market for longer, as buyers take their time to decide.”

“In December, we saw both buyers and sellers pulling back as they continue to adjust to a challenging market. Buyers started 2022 facing high home prices and limited inventories, and ended the year with interest rates roughly double where they started. Despite significant cooling in sales in 2022, some indicators remain in high gear. Prices are still significantly higher and homes are selling faster compared to 2019 pre-pandemic levels,” Danielle Hale, chief economist for Realtor.com, said in a statement. “Although demand has softened compared to last year, pushing home price growth into single-digit territory for the first time in 12 months, moderation in home price growth may encourage more buyers to return to the market in the months ahead, and may also be welcome news for sellers aiming to sell and buy at the same time. Affordability will remain a challenge and buyers will want to keep a close eye on their potential mortgage payment.”