July usually means a gradually slowing real estate market as some participants take a breath from the spring. It’s a time when many deals are closing, but there are incrementally fewer buyer looking and sellers listing as people enjoy the warmer weather.
This July finished with 829 single-family contracts in Hartford County, about 17% behind the July 2021 total. On a year-to-date basis the County was about 18% behind 2021.
Only one town, Windsor Locks, had more contracts through July in 2022 than in 2021. It’s at +1% with one more deal than YTD from last year – the narrowest of margins. Surprisingly, it also had the lowest inventory level of any town at 0.4 months.
Mortgage rates declined slightly during the month, as the financial markets reacted to the Fed’s efforts to fight inflation and concerns about a potential recessions. Because mortgages are very long-term loans, the action of the Fed to change short-term rates is not directly related. The sharply higher short-term interest rates is currently resulting in lower long-term interest rates.
Overall the local real estate market kept chugging along, with the typical seasonal slowdown.
