Connecticut Home Sales See First Annual Decline in 13 Months

Despite reaching their highest level so far this year, April home sales in Connecticut disappointed compared to year-ago levels.

According to the Warren Group, single-family home sales in the Nutmeg State totaled 1,816 in April, down 7.9 percent from April 2013’s 1,973 but an improvement over 1,589 in March. It was the first time in more than a year in which home sales fell annually.

Year-to-date, statewide sales came to 6,021 as of the end of April, down 0.5 percent from the same period last year.

While admitting April sales were “disappointingly sluggish,” Warren Group CEO Timothy M. Warren Jr. pointed out that the month’s numbers reflect the sale of homes that were shopped and negotiated during the slow winter months.

“We’ll have to wait for the summer months to gauge sales during the big spring selling season,” he said.

Meanwhile, median home prices across the state also declined, falling 2.0 percent from a year ago to $245,000. For the first four months of 2014, the median selling price was $235,000, a 1.3 percent annual decrease.

"Median prices slipped modestly in April as the real estate market has been unable to maintain the forward progress and momentum that it enjoyed in 2013,” Warren said. “This reflects a stubbornly weak recovery from the Great Recession.”

Connecticut isn’t the only state in the Northeast to see both sales and prices down compared to 2013. According to the National Association of Realtors, existing-home sales in the region were at an annual rate of 600,000 in April, down 6.3 percent year-over-year, while the median price was $244,000, down 0.4 percent.