Residential real estate contracts and closings continued to surge in October after the third quarter of 2020 experienced similar results, according to data compiled by William Pitt-Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty, the company announced today. All territories served by the company across Connecticut, Westchester County, N.Y., and the Berkshires, Mass., witnessed record pending and closed single family home sales.
Consistent trends were observed in all regions. Closed unit sales, closed dollar volume, pending unit sales and pending dollar volume saw double and sometimes triple digit percentage increases versus October of 2019 in every territory. The high percentages of pending sales suggest the record uptick will only continue. Closed and pending volume outpaced closed and pending units in every market, indicating a significant increase in higher priced property transactions.
In Fairfield County, Conn., October single family closed sales increased by 84% versus the same month in 2019 and closed volume increased by 192%. Units under contract increased by 53% while dollar volume of contracts rose by 106%. In Westchester County, N.Y., closed sales increased by 56% and closed volume by 84% over the same month last year, while units under contract increased by 47% and volume by 61% versus the same month in 2019.
The Connecticut Shoreline, encompassing New Haven, Middlesex and New London Counties, saw unit sales increase by 54% and volume by 98% versus the same month last year, while pending units increased by 16% and pending volume by 66%. Litchfield County, Conn., experienced a 66% uptick in unit sales and 155% in closed volume, as units under contracts increased by 14% and volume by 41%. The Farmington Valley region of Hartford County, Conn., saw unit sales increase by 44% and volume by 53%, and pending unit sales increase by 10% and volume by 38%. In the Berkshires, Mass., closed units increased by 52% and volume by 124%, while unit contracts increased by 17% and volume by 57%.
According to the company, the unparalleled sales growth has been fueled by New York City buyers relocating to the suburbs amidst the ongoing pandemic.
“We believe buyer demand will remain unparalleled throughout the rest of 2020 and beyond,” said Paul Breunich, President and Chief Executive Officer of William Pitt-Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty. “While the level of buyer interest in our markets is unmatched in recent memory, we continue to encourage more sellers to list their properties at this unrivaled moment in time. In my 30 years in the real estate industry, I have never seen a market like this one.”
