William Pitt – Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty reported that residential real estate markets in Connecticut, Westchester County, N.Y., and the Berkshires, Mass., continued to experience sales declines in October versus the same month last year. With housing supply limited for several quarters now, lower inventory continued to impact the market in October. Both new listings taken and overall inventory declined by significant percentages versus October 2021 in most markets.
Economic turbulence is playing a role in the reduced sales, but our unique proximity to New York City is nevertheless keeping our markets active. Unit closings have returned to pre-pandemic 2019 norms, but closed volume has surged significantly over 2019 as prices have risen and more properties at the higher end of the spectrum have sold.
In Fairfield County, Conn., unit sales and closed dollar volume declined in October versus the same month last year by 32% and 26%, respectively. Overall inventory was down 19% compared to October last year while new listings for the month decreased by 24%.
In Westchester County, N.Y., unit sales and closed volume decreased by 22% and 16%, respectively, from October last year. As in Fairfield County, limited inventory affected the market, with overall inventory down by 12% and new listings by 29% compared to October 2021.
Other markets served by the company witnessed similar trends. New Haven, New London, Middlesex, Litchfield and Hartford Counties in Connecticut and the Berkshires in Massachusetts all experienced decreases in unit sales and dollar volume versus last October. Most markets were challenged by low inventory, with New Haven County the only region to demonstrate a small increase.
Please see the accompanying charts for a full review of the data for all market areas, comparing October 2022 to both October 2021 and October 2020, sourced from various MLSs.
