Greater Hartford Q1 2009 Real Estate Market Statistics
It’s April and the first quarter of 2009 is behind us. That means it’s time for real estate market statistics for the Hartford area.
I’m going to tell you that while I was compiling this information last night, it was not giving me the warm fuzzies. In fact, it was making me feel a little sick to my stomach. The numbers are less than stellar. But they are what they are, so let’s take a look at them and see what they say. All data was compiled from the CT Multiple Listing Service for single family homes only and is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.
My observations…
1. The market slowed considerably in the first quarter of this year compared to the first quarter of 2008. Most towns tracked were off significantly in the number of closed sales. This is most likely attributable to the local job market and concerns with the overall economy. Remember, closed sales for the first quarter of this year would be based on contracts written towards the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009 when the financial markets were still reflecting a lot of fear and uncertainty (which could be argued is still present today).
2. Median prices are also off considerably in most towns. I’m still looking at the data to determine if this is due to prices truly falling or just a change in the mix of houses being sold. For example, are there just more lower priced homes (ie-first time buyer) that are being sold rather than higher priced (ie-move up buyers).
3. I didn’t provide a comparison change for the Days on Market column this time because it was very erratic for every town and didn’t tell any sort of story. I’m just providing DOM for the first quarter of this year so you can get an idea of how long, on average, it is taking to sell homes.
4. I’ve added a new column of data related to bank owned properties and short sales and how they contribute to the number of closed sales. I started investigating this statistic because I noticed that Hartford’s median price dropped all the way down to $130K and wondered if this was grossly affected by distressed property sales. Then I became curious how this statistic looked for the rest of the towns. I was surprised at how high the percentages were for many towns. I should also note that while there is a “Short Sale” field in the Multiple Listing Service, it is often not used by agents. I went through every single closed sale and looked for “bank owned,” “short sale,” etc. so I am fairly confident that these numbers are accurate. Realize though that they don’t take into account public foreclosure auction sales, as those don’t make it to the MLS in many cases.
5. Every town analyzed is now seen as a Buyer’s Market, with more than 6 months of inventory available. Please remember that depending on the price range you’re looking in within a specific town, this may change.
Reporting that the local real estate markets are slowing is at odds with the traditional cheerleader role that Realtors play. This may make me unpopular with the other kids on the playground. However I think it’s important for consumers to have access to data so that they can combine it with their personal situation to come to a decision that’s right for them.
With that being said, there are still lots of buyers and sellers active in the market and home sales continue to happen. It’s not necessarily a bad time to buy or sell, it all depends on your own individual situation.
Comments or thoughts?
Hats off for another excellent piece. That short/foreclosure sales statistic is a shocker. No wonder you were feeling ill. And to think it has a downward bias. Many players in RE/finance/economics — the ones who made the most stupefyingly unfounded claims (lies) about housing always being a good investment, recovery just around the corner, no price bubble, etc. — are, should be, or will soon be looking for work elsewhere. We can only hope that true professionals such as yourself are able to tell the truth and weather the storm.
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