Though home sales have soared across the tri-state area in the past year, Connecticut’s are off the charts.
The state’s housing market was slow before the pandemic. But since buyers began looking for more space, sales have nearly doubled in some areas, according to a new report by appraiser Miller Samuel for Douglas Elliman.
Fairfield County had its most first-quarter sales in 16 years and its lowest inventory total in 25 years.
For single-family homes in Greenwich, 200 transactions closed in the first quarter of 2021 — a 94 percent increase from 103 during the same period in 2020.
“Three quarters past the spring lockdown, heavy sales volume continues to characterize the market,” the report reads.
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Still, the market is showing indications of slowing. Sales decreased 29 percent from 2020’s fourth quarter, which saw 282 transactions.
In part, that’s because listings in Greenwich have fallen as homes have been scooped up. Inventory was down 44 percent from the first quarter of last year.
Strong demand and a lack of available homes have led to bidding wars, pushing home prices up. The average sale price in Greenwich hit $2.97 million, a 4 percent increase from the prior quarter and a 39 percent jump from the prior year.
In Fairfield County, which includes Greenwich, the average sale price increased 35 percent from a year ago to $811,000, the third-highest level on record.
As in Greenwich,, the number of sales was up from a year ago but down from last quarter. Some 3,045 sales closed — 43 percent more than last year but 35 percent below the fourth quarter.
Inventory declined 57 percent from last year, to 1,679 active listings. That’s down 19 percent from last quarter.