[skytrekker]

Whatever what may be said housing prices are still down 9.1% in greater Hartford over the last 12 months. There may be variations from community to community-nonetheless the market is still down. Saying anything less is snake oil sales.

Even here at city data things have slowed. Restaurants- several have closed locally- though many are chains, CT is clearly in a recession. The state has thus far this year lost 3400 jobs, and the unemployment rate has risen to 5%- above the national average. The state ranks 8th in foreclosures nationally-obviously things are not as rosy as some may paint them to be.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by AmyBergquist

Here's the latest market report for West Hartford... Greater Hartford Real Estate Blog » Blog Archive » West Hartford Real Estate Market Report

Homes that are priced well, without a lot of inventory in the specific price range, are selling really well right now. This past week I can think of 3 homes in West Hartford that were sold in 1 day, all in multiple offer situations.

If I get time later tonight, I will post a blog of similar data on the Valley and post it here.

If you're working with an agent, they should be able to give you specific info on what's a reasonable offer, based on the condition of the home and its competition on the market.

Amy - Your information is very interesting. Having only 4 homes in West Hartford in the $351k to $400k bracket means that people in the price range will face competition when buying and people selling may actually get multiple offers. It could also mean more activity in adjacent price brackets. I am seeing homes here in Glastonbury sell for prices of similar homes sold last year. Like I said, it depends where you are located.

As for homes that are not "well-priced", there are always a few owners who think their home is worth more than others or that they will find a sucker to buy at the proce thye want. Those are the homes that will sit on the market for months with little action. Jay

[skytrekker]

Do we believe in Lawrence Yun the national association of realtor's chief economist or perhaps his predecessor David Lereah regarding the direction of real estate?

Do we also deny that housing prices in greater Hartford have fallen 9.1% in the last year, and inventory has risen 10%.
Lets try and present an honest evaluation of the regions housing market and economy. The good thing is we are less overbuilt then many other areas of the nation, and our slowdown will be less severe- but we are still seeing prices fall- which actually is not a bad thing.

[JayCT]

Skytrekker - I am not arguing that the region has not seen a slow down and price drops. But it is not happening in every town. The towns the Jojofree mentioned are the more upscale suburbs in the area and they may not be seeing this happen. I am not seeing it in Glastonbury and from what Amy indicates, it sounds like there is a low inventory in West Hartford. Hardly a doom-and-gloom picture. Buyers in these towns should be aware of this and not assume they are going to be able to buy a $500k home for $450k or less because some towns (probably most) are seeing a price drop. Jay

[skytrekker]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Skytrekker - I am not arguing that the region has not seen a slow down and price drops. But it is not happening in every town. The towns the Jojofree mentioned are the more upscale suburbs in the area and they may not be seeing this happen. I am not seeing it in Glastonbury and from what Amy indicates, it sounds like there is a low inventory in West Hartford. Hardly a doom-and-gloom picture. Buyers in these towns should be aware of this and not assume they are going to be able to buy a $500k home for $450k or less because some towns (probably most) are seeing a price drop. Jay

Jay

In the end all towns are likely to see a price drop- some more then others. The economy in the state 'sucks' currently. You cannot have job losses, high gas prices, downward stock prices, and a national housing bust without it affecting this state.


Obviously the economy in Connecticut and nationally is facing many headwinds. Even in the San Francisco bay area housing prices are down over 12%--- in Los Angeles and San Diego nearly-20%- and in the Washington DC area 18%-- it seems likely that CT will not be immune from this- in even the so called 'special towns' you speak of. I have heard many times in the past from those who have said 'its different here'; unfortunately that axiom has proved untrue in many areas of the country that where said to be 'special'- believe me CT is no different.

From Bloomberg Business Today

Davidowitz Says Stores Face `Apocalypse' With Consumers

Jan Hatzius of Goldman Sees `Consumer Recession' in U.S.

listen at Bloomberg.com

[NY2CT]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Skytrekker - I am not arguing that the region has not seen a slow down and price drops. But it is not happening in every town. The towns the Jojofree mentioned are the more upscale suburbs in the area and they may not be seeing this happen. I am not seeing it in Glastonbury and from what Amy indicates, it sounds like there is a low inventory in West Hartford. Hardly a doom-and-gloom picture. Buyers in these towns should be aware of this and not assume they are going to be able to buy a $500k home for $450k or less because some towns (probably most) are seeing a price drop. Jay

I agree. I've seen about 100 houses in those towns over the last 8 months. While greater Hartford as a whole may be a buyer's market and have price drops, these 5 particular towns seem less affected. Of course if a house is overpriced, it will take a long time to sell. However, houses that are priced fairly in those towns sell very quickly.

No one is denying that the overall market is in trouble, but markets in some towns are doing much better than others. Assuming a house is priced well, I don't think buyers in Avon, Glastonbury, etc. will have much success with low ball offers.

[skytrekker]

Originally Posted by NY2CT

I agree. I've seen about 100 houses in those towns over the last 8 months. While greater Hartford as a whole may be a buyer's market and have price drops, these 5 particular towns seem less affected. Of course if a house is overpriced, it will take a long time to sell. However, houses that are priced fairly in those towns sell very quickly.

No one is denying that the overall market is in trouble, but markets in some towns are doing much better than others. Assuming a house is priced well, I don't think buyers in Avon, Glastonbury, etc. will have much success with low ball offers.

Prices overall have still dropped in the greater Hartford area- the average home price has dropped from 274K- 249K this is a 9.1 percent drop over the last 12 months. This is an average rate of decliner for all towns as listed by the NAR in the Hartford region.

[AmyBergquist]

As promised, here is the breakdown by price range for single family homes currently for sale in the Farmington Valley... Greater Hartford Real Estate Blog » Blog Archive » Farmington Valley Real Estate Report

Jay- Just for you, Glastonbury! http://www.amybergquist.com/images/glastonburyhomes.jpg Average days on market for Glastonbury, as of today, is 68 days.

[Rich Lee]

Originally Posted by skytrekker

Prices overall have still dropped in the Greater Hartford area - the average home price has dropped from 274K- 249K; this is a 9.1 percent drop over the last 12 months. This is an average rate of decline for all towns as listed by the NAR in the Hartford region.

Agreed...it is an average rate of decline. Prices have dropped 9.1 percent in a macro-economic sense. But the diverse Hartford region comprises 57 towns (Hartford, Tolland, and Middlesex Counties).

In a micro-economic sense, the higher-end towns still have medians 25 percent or higher than the Metro median:

$471,000 - Avon
$342,750 - Farmington
$355,500 - Glastonbury
$407,500 - Old Saybrook
$345,000 - Simsbury
$332,000 - Westbrook

Some haven't dropped 9.1 percent for whatever reason.

Source: http://www.cerc.com/hartford.html, http://www.cerc.com/tolland.html, and http://www.cerc.com/middlesex.html.

Fairfield County had the following quarterly medians:

QTR 1 - $730,800
QTR 2 - $836,300
QTR 3 - $797,900
QTR 4 - $753,000

This implies that prices in this quarter of the state actually increased during 2007 (BOY vs EOY). However, sales were down significantly for the year.

Source: Consolidated Multiple Listing Service - Watch Reports.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by AmyBergquist

Jay- Just for you, Glastonbury! http://www.amybergquist.com/images/glastonburyhomes.jpg Average days on market for Glastonbury, as of today, is 68 days.

Thank you Amy. Very interesting. Jay