Photo courtesy of CT Realtors
Alexa Kebalo
President-Elect, CT Realtors
Industry experience: 14 years
Alexa Kebalo will be heading up the CT Realtors in 2026 with a market that is continuing to deal with a lack of inventory and where sellers still have the upper hand.
According to data from The Warren Group, publisher of The Commercial Record, the statewide median single-family sale price hit $475,000 in August, the most recent data available. That’s up 3.86 percent year-over year, and up 25 percent since August 2022. The monthly number of single-family homes sold dropped 5.66 percent to 2,585 in August, a figure that’s down 24.55 percent from August 2022.
According to CT Realtors data, numbers of new listings dropped by 30 percent over the last three years while being up 4.9 percent year-over-year in August.
On top of a lack of inventory that has caused significant price growth, the number of available homes is causing homes that do end up on the market to be snapped up quickly. The median days on market dropped by 54 percent in the last 3 years and is down 9.1 percent year-over-year.
Q: Looking back at how the market has performed so far this year in Connecticut, what stands out and where does it compare, or contrast, compared to last year?
A: There was definitely a huge decline in new listings, and it’s starting to level off a little bit, but it’s still definitely a seller’s market. The median days on market is at 10 days on the market, and it’s dropped by 54 percent in the last three years and down another 9.1 percent over last year. But all things are really showing us that the market is kind of leveling off. The way I look at it, imagine you’re driving on the highway. Imagine you’re going way above the speed limit, right? You’re cruising and then you’re like, “Let me slow down to the normal 65 mph” but it feels like a normal slowdown, just because we had double-digit appreciation year-over-year, and now we’re having single-digit appreciation.
With our interest rates going down, it’s really helping people’s affordability. I talked to a lender recently, and he said, for example, his clients that were preapproved for $350,000, now they’re looking at about $400,000 for the same client, even that same monthly payment. So that’s always a good thing. Something else I want to point out is the new housing construction permits are down big time. Over this past year, something like 600 permits were issued within the last 12 months, versus in 2003 or so, it was like 3,200 permits in a calendar year. So, you could definitely see how that’s impacting the lack of affordability to build and the lack of opportunity. Because real estate, it’s a scarce commodity. The other thing with the lower interest rate, if a mortgage rate fell from 7 percent to 6 percent then that would allow about 2,400 more households afford the median-price home in the Hartford-Middletown area. So that’s really helping us a lot to allow for a lot more people to enter the marketplace.
Q: How could declining interest rates affect sellers?
A: It depends what’s the seller’s situation. Are they looking to specifically sell, and then do they already have a place that they’re going to go, maybe they’re relocating down South, etc, or maybe they also need to purchase? Maybe they’re looking to downsize or maybe they’re looking to upsize? So, whatever their case may be, if they need to also purchase, the lower interest rate, it’s going to help them and their affordability to go on to the next home.
The average person in the United States typically has been in their home for about 10 years or so. Let’s say someone purchased and they have a phenomenal interest rate, or let’s say they refinanced right during COVID. So for a lot of people to make a move, maybe their house is too big, or maybe it’s too small, but if they have such a phenomenal interest rate, it’s really tough to look at “Where am I going? How much is that house, and what’s that interest rate, and what does that mean for me in the monthly payment?” Because ultimately, people live in the monthly right? So with the interest rates going down for those sellers that are also looking to purchase, it’s really helping them to be able to figure out, “How much more can I afford in a home?” So I think it’s really going to help open up some inventory. Again, it’s still a seller’s market, but when you’re up against 20 offers versus five offers, for example, it really does make a difference.
So I think with the interest rate going down, some of those buyers that have had that fatigue, they may say, “You know what? This is going to help my affordability so much, let me jump back into the game. Let me put my hat back in the ring” and maybe that’ll help them to be able to afford more of a home, and maybe that’ll allow them to just offer that much more competitively when it comes to offering on a home. So I think that it can only help us as we’re moving forward.
Q: How important is pricing in the current market dynamics that Connecticut currently has?
A: Pricing strategically is always so important. We always say whenever you’re considering to make a move, use a trusted realtor that’s able to look at all these trends and dynamics. Every market is different, and it comes down to county by county, town by town, within a price range, within a town. Because different price ranges in different towns have different availability. So if you’re going to list your home, and let’s say that based on the market data between $400,000 and $500,000 and let’s say that there’s absolutely nothing else listed on the market. While supply and demand would allow you, as a seller, maybe you want to price even higher? Maybe close to the $500,000 mark, because you’re able to do so because there’s absolutely no competition. So just like anything, it’s so important to use a trusted Realtor that’s able to guide you, because ultimately, there’s so many factors that go into pricing a home correctly, and you really don’t want to miss the mark there, because if you’re able to price competitively and appropriately, you’re really going to allow for the most buyers to see your home.
Kebalo’s Five Favorite Activities
- Walking with an audiobook
- Hiking with my dog
- Soaking up the sun
- Playing with my nieces
- Sunday dinners with my family
