Survey: CT home sales climbed in July

Connecticut single-family home sales rose 4 percent in July, the first year-over-year increase in two years, according to a new report from Boston data publisher The Warren Group.

"The last time there was even a slight increase in monthly sales year-over-year was July 2007," said CEO Timothy M. Warren Jr., publisher of The Commercial Record. "Still, declines in monthly median prices continue to exceed 10 percent, a clear sign that the real estate market is still struggling. We won't see stabilization in home prices until there are consistent gains in home sales."

Sales climbed to 2,947 in July from 2,834 in July 2008. Home sales in Tolland and Windham counties soared by more than 50 percent in July compared to the same month last year.

Only Hartford and Fairfield counties had declines in July home sales, the survey found. A total of 12,470 single-family home sales traded statewide through July, a 15.5 percent drop from 14,758 a year earlier.

The median selling price for single-family homes fell 11.7 percent to $255,000 in July from $288,750 a year ago. Monthly median home prices have been sliding by double-digit percentages year-over-year since October 2008.  Year-to-date the median home price retreated 12.7 percent to $240,153 from $275,000 in 2008.

Condominium sales in Connecticut continued to decline in July, but at a slower rate than prior months, Warren Group said.

Condo sales slipped 7.4 percent to 794 from 857 in July 2008, an improvement from the first six months of the year when sales plunged by double-digit percentages, Warren said. There were 3,577 condo sale transactions recorded from January through July, a 33 percent decrease from 5,339 a year earlier.

The median price for condos tumbled 15.5 percent to $180,000 in July from $213,000 during the same month last year. The median price for condos sold through July was $175,000, down 12.9 percent from $201,000 the prior year.