Realtor.com released its 2026 Housing Affordability and Homebuilding Report Card and Connecticut received an “F” for the second straight year.
“The regional divide we saw last year is a continuing structural feature of the American housing market,” Realtor.com Senior Economist Joel Berner said in a statement. “The states at the top of our rankings benefit from available land, lower regulatory barriers and a building culture that prioritizes volume and accessibility.
The Nutmeg State received a total score of 29, the sixth-worst in the nation. Additionally, it received an affordability score of 0.67. The affordability score is derived from the Realtor Affordability Distribution Curve, which examines how many listings are affordable to those in a particular income percentile. Connecticut has a median income of $95,392 but the median listing price is $518,892, according to Realtor.com.
The lack of affordability is strengthened due to a lack of new units. Connecticut made up just 0.49 percent of the nation’s newly permitted units.
The premium of the few new construction units that enter the market is rather large as well. According to Realtor.com, there is a 72 percent premium on new units. The new-construction premium comes from comparing the median prices of Realtor.com listings grouped into new builds and existing homes for each state.
“What the 2026 update shows is that the states making real headway are the ones doing both things well – keeping homes within reach of today’s median earners and building enough new supply to meet demand,” Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale said in a statement. “Indiana’s rise to the top of the class is a textbook example of that balanced approach. Meanwhile, the bottom of the rankings has barely budged, which shows how deep these structural challenges run. With a nationwide housing shortage still near 4 million homes, the gap between America’s best and toughest housing markets isn’t narrowing, it’s growing.”
The Northeast averages a score of just 30.0. Three of the six F grades went to New England states (Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island).
