Conn. single-family home sales fall 21.1%

BOSTON – Single-family home sales in Connecticut fell 21.1 percent in April, marking the slowest April for the state since 1987, according to The Warren Group, a Boston-based real estate tracker.
Sales fell in every county but New London County, which borders Rhode Island. Sales in that county jumped 17.83 percent, rising from 129 sales to 152 sales.
Sales in Windham County, also bordering Rhode Island, fell 6.4 percent, dropping from 79 to 74 sales. Sales in every other county fell by more than 10 percent.
“Low mortgage interest rates, a first-time homebuyer tax credit and reduced home prices didn’t stimulate sales, even though that was the expectation,” CEO Timothy M. Warren Jr. said in a statement. “Job losses, pay cuts and mounting consumer debt appear to be affecting people’s home-buying decisions.”
The statewide median price of a single-family home in Connecticut dropped 13.5 percent in April, falling to $227,500 from $263,000.
In Windham County, the median price was down 10.53 percent, falling to $170,000. In New London County, the median price was $215,000, down 11.89 percent from the $235,600 median price a year earlier.
The Warren Group Inc. is a provider of New England real estate data and the publisher of Banker & Tradesman and other journals. Additional information is available at www.thewarrengroup.com.