Compared to last year, single-family home and condo sales are up for the first three months of 2019 in New London and Windham counties — indicating that eastern Connecticut is bucking the trend of the rest of the state.

That's according to data from the Eastern Connecticut Association of Realtors and The Warren Group, which reports on real estate trends in New England.

ECAR released its first-quarter housing stats this week, which show that across the two counties, the number of single-family home sales increased 4.33 percent over last year, while condo sales increased 10.10 percent.

Comparatively, single-family home sales for the fourth quarter of 2018 were down nearly 8 percent over the previous year.

The Warren Group reported that single-family and condo sales statewide respectively fell 14.5 percent and 17.6 percent from last January to this January, and fell 6.2 percent and 4.6 percent from last February to this February. The company has not yet posted March data.

ECAR CEO Susy Hurlbert's biggest takeaway from her association's data is "that inventory has a slight uptick from the last couple of years, which has been a concern across the country and also in Eastern Connecticut."

The median price of a single-family home increased 2.44 percent to $210,000 across the two counties; Hurlbert said the price is leveling off. She attributes the leveling off to both increased inventory and the desire for affordable housing.

The number of days a single-family home spent on the market decreased 13 percent over last year. The decrease in number of days on the market was larger for Windham County, specifically.

"The single largest group of homebuyers are millennials," Hurlbert said, "and they are targeting the lower priced housing, so because the median price is lower in Windham County with that larger group of homebuyers, they're going fast."

She said this is the peak homebuying time for millennials, which Pew Research Center defines as those born between 1981 and 1996.

The number of land sales increased nearly 11 percent, which Hurlbert attributes to tax reform that led to more corporate spending. However, land was the only sale category to see an increase in the number of days on the market.

e.moser@theday.com