Tax credit keeps low-priced homes selling here

In this real estate market, "flat is good."

So said Timothy M. Warren Jr., chief executive of The Warren Group, as he released September real estate statistics Thursday that showed sales of single-family homes in New London County edging up 2.2 percent in September compared to a year ago, with statewide numbers essentially the same as last year.

This was the fifth time in the last six months that sales figures locally showed an increased, spurred largely by lower-end homes being snatched up by people taking advantage of an $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit.

"September didn't deliver the gains in sales volume that the previous months did," Warren, whose company publishes The Commercial Record, said in a written commentary. "Still, single-family home sales in the third quarter managed to creep up a bit from last year, and the first-time homebuyer tax credit and lower home prices statewide helped to drive that increase."

Locally, the median price of single-family homes was off $22,000 compared to a year ago, a 9.3 percent decrease. The median home price last month was $215,500, compared to $237,500 last year.

Statewide, median prices were down 8.4 percent. Still, as Warren pointed out, this was the first single-digit statewide price decline in a full year.

Warren said he was "a little disappointed" that Connecticut's sales figures failed to show growth in September. But he pointed out that the numbers are far better than for the first quarter, when sales were in a tailspin of 40 percent declines.

"Unemployment is certainly a big factor," he added, "and people are still nervous about the economy."

But local condo sales were up more than 23 percent in September, and prices rose 9.4 percent over a year ago. The median condo price in September was $175,000 in New London County, compared with $159,900 a year ago.

But statewide condo sales, like those for single-family homes, were little changed from a year ago. And median condo prices statewide were off 8.8 percent for the month and are down 11.5 percent so far this year.

"The condo market certainly isn't robust, but it's not in as steep a decline as it was in the first quarter," Warren said.

Despite the flat single-family sales statewide in September, five out of Connecticut's eight counties showed growth, the largest coming from Tolland County with sales advancing more than 13 percent. Numbers were dragged down by Middlesex County, whose sales tumbled 17.5 percent, and Fairfield County, with 5.1 percent lower sales.

For the year to date, sales are still off 5.7 percent in New London County, and the median price is down 11.5 percent compared with last year. Only Windham County, at $170,000, has a lower median price for single-family homes than New London County so far this year.

Warren said he hopes the homebuyer tax credit is extended into next year to provide more price support for real estate.

"It certainly wouldn't help at all to have that price support removed," he said. "It certainly wouldn't be disastrous, either."